Major US stock indexes fell moderately amid mixed corporate reports and reports that negotiations between the US and China were stumped, as the US is trying to figure out what to do with Huawei.

Bank of America (BAC) reported quarterly earnings of $ 0.74 per share, which was $ 0.03 above the average forecast. Bank revenue coincided with forecasts. However, the financial director warned that lower rates would have a negative impact on the growth of net interest income.

Meanwhile, CSX Corp. (CSX) reported weaker than analysts predicted quarterly results. In addition, the company said they expect annual revenues to fall by 1-2%. This put pressure on transport company stocks.

Both earnings and revenue of United Airlines (UAL) were better than analysts had expected. The company also increased its share repurchase program by $ 3 billion.

The focus of market participants was also disappointing data on the US housing market. The Commerce Department reported that housing construction fell in July for the second month in a row, and the number of building permits dropped to a 2-year low, indicating that the housing market continues to experience difficulties despite the decline in mortgage rates. Housing construction fell by 0.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,253 million units last month, as the recovery in single-family housing construction was offset by a fall in multi-family housing construction. Economists had forecast that bookmarks for new homes would fall to 1.261 million units. The construction of single-family homes, which account for the largest share of the housing market, grew by 3.5% to 847,000 units in June, which partially offset the sharp drop in May. Building permits fell 6.1% to 1,220 million units in June, the lowest level since May 2017.

A certain influence on the course of trading was rendered by the Fed's “Beige Book” report. The paper reported that economic activity continued to grow, despite continuing concerns about trade. In 12 federal districts, they reported moderate economic growth at the beginning of the summer, with many companies expressing optimism about the future, although they are closely following ongoing trade negotiations. "In general, the outlook for the coming months was positive, while moderate growth is expected to continue, despite widespread concerns about possible negative effects from trade uncertainty," the report said.

Most of the components of DOW recorded a decline (23 of 30). Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA; -2.31%) was an outsider. The growth leader was the shares of The Boeing Co. (BA; + 1.64%).

Most sectors of the S & P finished trading in the red. The largest decline was in the industrial goods sector (-1.3%). The utility sector grew the most (+ 0.5%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 27,220.13 -115.50 -0.42%

S & P 500 2,984.42  -19.62 -0.65%

Nasdaq 100 8,185.21 -37.59 -0.46%

U.S. stock-index futures traded flat on Wednesday, as investors digested the latest batch of quarterly corporate results and U.S. housing market data.

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Bank of America (BAC) reported Q2 FY 2019 earnings of $0.74 per share (versus $0.63 in Q2 FY 2018), beating analysts’ consensus of $0.71.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $23.100 bln (+2.7% y/y), generally in line with analysts’ consensus estimate of $23.130 bln.

BAC fell to $28.86 (-0.45%) in pre-market trading.