US stocks waver as investors eye earnings, ECB decision

Shares had gained ground in the past two days amid weakening economic data that offered hope the Federal Reserve would not have to be as aggressive in cooling the economy.

But the European Central Bank on Thursday joined the Fed in hiking interest rates.

About 20 minutes into the trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 0.5 percent to 31,719.92.

The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.2 percent to 3,950.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was bouncing around but flat at 11,905.88.

“Market participants have been tasked with processing a lot of news since yesterday’s close. Some of it is good, some of it is bad, and some of it is just okay,” Briefing.com analyst Patrick J O’Hare said.

He said the “hopeful idea” that the Fed might be able to ease off on interest rate hikes “has helped fuel a needed rebound effort this month that has gained some steam on the added notion that the level of bearishness in the stock market is at an extreme level.”

Among the big names reporting earnings, American Airlines dropped 6.8 percent, even after announcing a quarterly profit despite rising fuel costs.

United Airlines, which reported after the close Wednesday, dropped 7.8 percent, while electric automaker Tesla gained 5.7 percent.