Equities markets in New York were mixed on Wednesday at midday despite some good news in the form of an upwardly revised number for the gross domestic product in the second quarter. Instead of the first estimate of GDP growth of 2.5 percent in the quarter, growth was estimated to have been at 2.9 percent, fairly close to the expected 3 percent growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was close to flat, up only 4.32 points halfway through the session, to 11.374.26. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.3 percent higher to 2,179.51, but the S&P 500 was 0.1 percent lower to 1,303.58.
The telecommunications sector was mixed. After reporting that its third-quarter earnings were down by 50 percent, ADC Telecommunications dropped 8.3 percent to $13.53. With share values down by 40 percent so far this year, Credit Suisse reduced its recommendation on ADC from “outperform” to “neutral”. Harris, another telecoms equipment manufacturer, was 2.8 percent lower to $44.01, also after a broker downgrade. Prudential lowered their rating from “neutral weight” to “underweight.” Gainers in the telecoms sector included Qualcomm, which added 1.3 percent to $38.12. In addition, Lucent was 2.6 percent higher to $2.36.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber was up by 2.2 percent to $13.51, bringing its gains to 37 percent in just six weeks.
The oil sector was lower as crude prices declined again after this week’s inventories report showed gains in crude oil and gasoline stockpiles. Nabors Industries dropped 2.4 percent to $32.70, while Marathon Oil declined 3.6 percent to $84.70.