NEW YORK: Investors unimpressed by a skein of positive earnings surprises sold down US stocks Wednesday, with some nervousness over the eurozone clouding sentiment.
At 1430 GMT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 49.15 points (0.37 percent) to 13,066.39.
The broader S&P 500 lost 3.94 (0.28 percent) to 1,386.84, while the Nasdaq gave up 4.58 (0.15 percent) to 3,038.24
"Earnings reports, although generally better than expected, have failed to stimulate broad demand for many stocks," said Briefing.com, referring in part to first-quarter reports by IBM and Intel, both members of the 30-stock Dow.
IBM's first-quarter earnings topped estimates with a 7.1 percent profit rise, but the share price fell 2.5 percent as traders focused on a disappointing revenues figure.
Chip-maker Intel slipped 1.1 percent as its profits dropped 13 percent while expenses rose.
Berkshire Hathaway's B shares were down 1.0 percent after founder and chief, investment guru Warren Buffett, reported that he would take treatment for prostate cancer but would hold onto his duties running the company.
Apple, whose 5.1 percent jump Tuesday drove the Nasdaq's 1.82 percent surge, added another 0.7 percent.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 2.00
percent from 2.01 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year moved to 3.13 percent from 3.15 percent.