Wall St pauses on downbeat earnings; Boeing slips 1% after results

Wall Street was slightly lower on Wednesday after a barrage of lacklustre earnings reports from companies, including AT&T, and Dow component Boeing weighed after revealing a surprise charge in the latest quarter.

AT&T fell 2.12 per cent and was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 index after the US No 2 wireless carrier's quarterly results missed estimates.

Boeing fell about 1 per cent after it booked a charge related to its troubled KC-46 aerial refuelling tanker.

The declines come after the Dow closed at another record high on Tuesday led by gains in industrial giants Caterpillar and 3M.

The earnings season has been largely positive, with more than 70 per cent of the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far beating profit expectations.

"The market is looking for additional fuel to continue the drive higher, whether it comes in the form of earnings or tax reform," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

Investors were also keeping an eye on the nomination of the next Federal Reserve chief.

The dollar got a lift from a report that Republican senators were favouring Stanford University economist John Taylor over current Fed Governor Jerome Powell.
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