Roundup: U.S. stocks end mixed amid earnings, data

U.S. stocks closed mixed after wavering between gains and losses Tuesday, as major companies reported mixed quarterly results and economic data came out slightly downbeat.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 59.66 points, or 0.33 percent, to 18,036.70. The S&P 500 inched up 3.41 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,095.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 10.96 points, or 0.22 percent, to 4,977.29.

Big companies' earnings for the first quarter of 2015 were in focus on Tuesday. Before opening bell, both JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have reported their quarterly earnings, which beat analysts' previous estimates.

JPMorgan's net income of the first quarter in 2015 rose to 5. 914 billion U.S. dollars, or 1.45 dollars per share, which topped Wall Street's forecasts for 1.40 dollars per share. Its shares rose 1.56 percent to 63.04 dollars apiece.

Wells Fargo, the third largest U.S. bank by assets, posted quarterly earnings of 1.04 dollars per share, which was lower than the 1.05 dollars per share earnings in the first quarter of 2014 but was still higher than market forecast. Its quarterly revenue was up 3 percent from the previous year, above estimates as well. Its shares, however, dipped 0.73 percent to 54.19 dollars apiece.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson reported quarterly sales of 17.4 billion dollars, 4.1 percent lower than those of the first quarter in 2014, as the company faced headwinds from the impact of a strong dollar. Its shares edged down 0.03 percent to 100.52 dollars apiece.

Latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the blended earnings in the first quarter of 2015 are expected to decline 2.7 percent year on year, while the revenue is forecast to decrease 2. 8 percent. Excluding the energy sector, however, the earnings growth estimate is a 5.6-percent gain, with a revenue increase of 2.9 percent.

On the economic front, retail sales for March showed an increase of 0.9 percent from the previous month, slightly below expectations of 1.1 percent, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

"Normally, a 0.9 percent retail sales increase in a month can be described as strong, but not this time, because the rise failed to reverse even half of the prior three months' weakness. As it is, sales were extraordinarily weak in the first quarter, which fell 5. 0 percent," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.2 percent in March, in line with analysts' expectations and snapping a four- month losing streak, said the U.S. Labor Department.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the World Economic Outlook on Tuesday. The IMF said that the global economy remains moderate and uneven, underlining the growing divergence among the world's major economies amid varying impacts of currency fluctuations and lower oil prices.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 1.94 percent to end at 13.67 Tuesday.

In other markets, crude prices continued its advance Tuesday on expectations of declining U.S. oil output and weakness in the U.S. dollar.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery gained 1.38 dollars to settle at 53.29 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery moved up 50 cents to close at 58.43 dollars a barrel.

The U.S. dollar declined against other major currencies on Tuesday as retail sales data from the country came out weaker than expected and the IMF lowered U.S. growth forecasts in 2015 and 2016.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0658 dollars from 1.0569 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 119.39 Japanese yen, lower than 120.07 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Tuesday with the most active gold contract for June delivery down 6.7 dollars, or 0.56 percent, to settle at 1, 192.60 dollars per ounce. Endite