US stocks close mixed after earnings reports

New York Oct 18 (IANS) US stocks ended mixed on Tuesday with the Dow touching 23 000 for the first time during the session as investors were sifting through a batch of corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 40.48 points or 0.18 per cent to 22 997.44. The S&P 500 gained 1.72 points or 0.07 per cent to 2 559.36 Xinhua reported. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.35 points or 0.01 per cent to 6 623.66.

Johnson & Johnson reported better-than-expected quarterly results driven by its pharmaceutical business and its recent acquisition of Swiss biotech Actelion. The company s stock rose 3.43 per cent to close at 140.79 USD a share on Monday.

US online streaming giant Netflix also posted better-than-expected earnings and revenue boosted by stronger-than-expected subscriber growth. Shares of the company retreated 1.58 per cent to close at 199.48 USD after rising nearly 2 per cent in premarket trading.

Shares of Morgan Stanley increased 0.33 to close at 49.12 USD as the company s wealth management business also posted strong quarterly results.

--IANS
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