U.S. stocks retreat amid earnings reports

U.S. stocks ended lower after wavering in a tight range Wednesday, as Wall Street meditated on a batch of earnings results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.66 points, or 0.16 percent, to 19,941.96. The S&P 500 decreased 5.58 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,265.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 12.51 points, or 0.23 percent, to 5,471.43.

After Tuesday's closing bell, Nike Inc. reported profits of 50 cents per share for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2017 ended November 30, on revenues of 8.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Following the release of the better-than-expected quarterly results, shares of the athletic retailer rose 0.98 percent to 52.30 U.S. dollars apiece Wednesday.

Shares of FedEx Corp. dropped 3.32 percent to 192.14 dollars apiece Wednesday after the U.S. shipping giant reported earnings for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2017 that missed analysts' estimates.

On the economic front, U.S. total existing-home sales rose 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million in November from a downwardly revised 5.57 million in October, beating market consensus.

Overseas, European equities closed narrowly mixed Wednesday amid concerns regarding the stability of the Italian banking system. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange edged up 0.03 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index inched down 0.04 percent.

In Asia, Chinese stocks rallied Wednesday as liquidity concerns fueled by a bond scandal were eased and reforms of state-owned enterprises (SOE) also helped brighten market sentiment. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.11 percent to 3,137.43 points. Enditem