Yahoo Finance Weak company earnings keep stock market in check
More weak earnings reports from US companies keep the stock market in check; UPS slides
FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014 file photo, trader Gregory Rowe, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. World stocks traded mixed Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 with a patchy performance in Asia and early gains in Europe and U.S. futures a day after losses on Wall Street. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
NEW YORK (AP) -- More weak earnings results from U.S. companies are keeping stocks in check in early trading.
United Parcel Service slumped 3 percent after warning investors that its fourth-quarter income would be lower than previously anticipated. UPS said it had to hire far more temporary workers than it planned during the holiday season to accommodate a rush of online shopping orders.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down two points, or 0.1 percent, at 1,843 in early trading Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged up three points, 0.03 percent, to 16,423 and the Nasdaq composite fell five points, 0.1 percent, to 4,213.
Student loan company SLM Corp. dropped 8 percent after its earnings fell short of analysts' expectations. Intel fell 4 percent, the most in the Dow.
