Stocks mixed as traders digest earnings, trade concerns

Stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining downside momentum in afternoon trade following a range-bound open.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 81.37 points, or 0.32%, to 25,333.82. The S&P 500 ticked 2.93 points lower, closing at 2,813.36.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite got a boost from Apple, whose shares rallied in response to better quarterly earnings than expected. The index rose 35.5 points, or 0.46%, to 7,707.29.

Adding overall pressure to the market were reports that the Trump administration was considering putting a 25% tariff on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods. This comes after initially setting the tariffs at 10% in a bid to pressure Beijing into making trade concessions, a source familiar with the plan told Reuters.

The Federal Reserve, as expected, announced that it would maintain  interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day policy setting meeting, adding the decision was "unamnimous."

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	44296.51	+426.16	+0.97%
SP500	S&P 500	5969.34	+20.63	+0.35%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	19003.651134	+31.23	+0.16%

Wednesday was another busy day for earnings, while economic data included the ADP’s report on private-sector hiring. According to the survey, 219,000 private-sector jobs were created in July, above the 185,000 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected. The Markit U.S. Manufacturing Sector final PMI for July came in at 55.3 in July versus the 55.5 flash reading.

The Commerce Department reported that construction spending fell 1.1% in June with both residential and nonresidential spending falling. May’s growth rate was upwardly revised to 1.3% versus the previously reported 0.4%. Even with June’s decline, construction spending has climbed 6.1% over the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Treasury touched 3% for the first time in seven weeks, Wednesday.

Commodities were mixed but oil slipped, pressured by signs of rising production.

FOX Business' Ken Martin contributed to this article.