U.S. stocks waver amid earnings reports

NEW YORK, April 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks fluctuated between gains and losses in the morning session on Wednesday as investors digested a batch of quarterly earnings reports.

Around midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.35 points, or 0.03 percent, to 24,793.98. The S&P 500 increased 8.18 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,714.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 26.60 points, or 0.37 percent, to 7,307.70.

Before Wednesday's opening bell, Morgan Stanley reported net revenues of 11.1 billion U.S. dollars for the first quarter ended March 31, compared with 9.7 billion dollars a year ago.

For the current quarter, net income applicable to Morgan Stanley was 2.7 billion dollars, or 1.45 dollars per diluted share, compared with net income of 1.9 billion dollars, or 1.00 dollar per diluted share, for the same period a year ago.

Following the release of the better-than-expected quarterly results, the U.S. bank's shares traded slightly higher around midday Wednesday.

Shares of United Continental Holdings jumped more than 6 percent around midday after the parent company of United Airlines delivered quarterly results that beat market estimates.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the first quarter of 2018 are expected to rise by 19.2 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase by 7.5 percent.

Investors also kept a close eye on the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which is scheduled to be released in the afternoon, for more clues on the performance of the U.S. economy. Enditem