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S&P 500 ends slightly down after mixed earnings, opening glitch

A spate of NYSE-listed stocks were halted at the top of the session due to an apparent technical malfunction, which caused initial price confusion and prompted an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

More than 80 stocks were affected by the glitch, which caused wide swings in opening prices in dozens of stocks, including Walmart Inc and Nike Inc.

“Everybody’s having computer problems, first the airlines and now it’s the NYSE,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist Ingalls & Snyder in New York. “Seems like it was quickly corrected.”

“Some of the prints were clearly bad,” Ghriskey added. “It was a surprise. Unexpected.”

The Nasdaq joined the S&P 500 in negative territory, while the Dow ended modestly higher.

Fourth quarter earnings season is in full swing, with 72 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 65% have beaten consensus, just a hair below the 66%…
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