US stocks drift in early trading as more companies report their results

Audio By Carbonatix

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting as investors pore over another batch of earnings reports from U.S. companies. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% early Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially flat, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%. DoorDash sank after warning investors that it will be spending significantly more on product development next year. Rockwell Automation jumped after turning in results that easily beat analysts’ forecasts. European markets edged lower after a divided Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged. Asian markets closed higher. Treasury yields moved lower in the bond market.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street logged tiny gains before the bell Thursday with markets relying heavily on corporate earnings data for insight into how the U.S. economy is doing in the absence of government data due to the shutdown.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up 0.2% ahead of the market's open, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.1%.

Shares of Lyft rose 6.2% after hours, even as the ride-hailing app badly missed Wall Street's sales and profit targets. However, Lyft did post some of its best-ever numbers across several categories and investors seemed optimistic about the company's multiple corporate partnerships, many related to autonomous vehicles.

Food delivery app DoorDash tumbled 12% overnight after it warned investors that it will be spending significantly more on product development next year.

DoorDash's third-quarter revenue beat Wall Street targets but its profit fell short. That, combined with research and development costs rising 23% to $355 million, sent investors for the exits.

Elsewhere, in Europe at midday Britain's FTSE 100 ticked down a modest 0.1% after the Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged at 4% as expected.

Germany's DAX lost 0.3% while the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.6%.

In Asia, shares bounced back from a retreat the day before.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.3% to 50,883.68.

Shares in Nissan Motor Co. fell 1.7% after the company said it was selling its headquarters building in Yokohama to raise cash.

After trading closed, Nissan reported a 221.9 billion yen ($1.4 billion) loss for April-September and said its revenue dropped 7% from a year earlier.

In South Korea, the Kospi advanced 0.6% to 4,026.45. Taiwan's Taiex was up 0.7%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.1% to 26,485.90, while the Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.1% to 4,007.76.

However, shares in autonomous driving companies Pony.ai and WeRide fell in their debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Pony.ai lost 9.3%, while WeRide's shares fell 10%.

Shares in Cathay Pacific Airways gained 4% after it announced that Qatar Airways was selling its 9.57% stake in the Hong Kong-based carrier in a buyback worth $896 million. The deal is subject to shareholder approval.

The latest round of earnings offers Wall Street a source of information on consumers, businesses and the economy that is otherwise lacking amid the government shutdown. Important monthly updates on inflation and employment have ceased, leaving investors, economists and the Federal Reserve without a fuller picture of the economy.

There are still several informative private economic updates that Wall Street can review, including the monthly report from ADP showed that private payrolls rose more than expected in October. The report offers a partial glimpse into the job market, which has been generally weakening and raising broader concerns about economic growth.

A weaker job market remains a big concern for the Fed. The central bank cut its benchmark rate for the second time this year at its most recent meeting, in part to help bolster the economy amid a weakening job market. Lower interest rates can make loans and credit less expensive, potentially promoting economic growth. But, lower rates can also add fuel to inflation, which tends to stunt economic growth.

In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude gained 50 cents to $60.10 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 44 cents to $63.96 per barrel.