Dow Slips as IBM Slides, But S&P Ticks Up

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Sinking shares of tech giant IBM weighed on the Dow, however, the broader S&P 500 closed in the green.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 41.1 points, or 0.25%, to 16373, the S&P 500 gained 1.1 points, or 0.06%, to 1845 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 17.2 points, or 0.41%, to 4243.

With earnings season in full swing, corporate news stole Wall Street's focus on Wednesday. IBM (NYSE:IBM) and United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) both revealed better-than-expected quarterly profits, but disappointing sales sent shares sliding. Both companies have price points north of $100, meaning moves in their shares will have an outsize impact on the Dow.

Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), the chipmaker, also came under pressure amid concerns about current-quarter profits. Meanwhile, Coach (NYSE:COH) tumbled after the high-end apparel maker reported a bigger-than-expected fall in sales.

Elsewhere in corporate news, VMware (NASDAQ:VMW) said it would buy AirWatch for $1.54 billion.

There aren't any economic releases scheduled until the end of the week.

In commodities, U.S. crude oil futures climbed 62 cents, or 0.66%, to $94.99 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline rose 0.32% to $2.629 a gallon. Gold dipped 40 cents, or 0.03%, to $1,242 a troy ounce.