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Stocks End Mixed; Boeing Leads Dow; Tesla, ServiceNow, VMware Up Late

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Weak earnings from Apple (AAPL) fueled selling in the Nasdaq Wednesday, but the weakness wasn't as pronounced in the S&P 500.

At the close, the Nasdaq composite lost 0.6% as it seeks support at its 50-day moving average again. The S&P 500 dropped 0.2%, and small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 down 0.9%. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.2%, helped by strength in Boeing (BA) and Nike (NKE). Preliminary data showed volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq coming in slightly higher than Tuesday's levels.

Wednesday's after-hours sessions served up plenty of earnings winners, including Tesla Motors (TSLA), up 6%, ServiceNow (NOW), up 4%, and VMware (VMW), up 2%.

Oil prices reversed lower despite a government report that showed U.S. crude stockpiles unexpectedly decreased last week. December West Texas intermediate crude fell 78 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $49.18 a barrel.

Weakness in Nasdaq 100 bellwether Apple weighed on sentiment as shares gapped down and lost 2%.


IBD'S TAKE: Give Apple credit. It's still holding above its 50-day moving average amid mixed analyst commentary around its Q4 results.


Boeing (BA) led a rally in aerospace and defense stocks. Other big gainers in the group included Flir Systems (FLIR) and TransDigm Group (TDG). Earnings reports were the catalysts for Boeing and Flir Systems. Boeing jumped nearly 5% to 145.54. It cleared a base with a 139.55 buy point. Flir surged 10% while TransDigm added 1%.

Wall Street also didn't like reports from Edwards Lifesciences (EW), Chipotle (CMG) and GrubHub (GRUB) as losses ranged from 9% to 17%.

Edwards reported its second-straight quarter of 20%+ earnings and sales growth, but sales missed expectations. Earnings and sales came up short at Chipotle. GrubHub beat handily on earnings and sales, but a 19% rise in active customers disappointed.

Trucking stocks outperformed as strong earnings from small cap Saia (SAIA) gave the group a lift. Shares jumped 14% to 33.28. The stock cleared a flat base with a 32.35 buy point.

Akamai (AKAM) also bucked the trend, soaring nearly 15%. The network performance specialist reported a 10% earnings gain and a 6% rise in revenue, both above analyst views. Akamai ended Tuesday's session just out of buy range from a 56.15 buy point in a cup-with-handle base.

Vantiv (VNTV), a provider of payment processing services, extended gains after a recent breakout from a cup-with-handle base. Shares jumped 3.5% in heavy volume on strong Q3 results.

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