US stocks boosted by better Fed outlook; Apple dives

Plunging Apple shares weighed on US stocks Wednesday, but the Dow and S&P 500 rose after the Federal Reserve offered a somewhat more optimistic view of the global economy.

Apple, the biggest company by market capitalization, tumbled 6.4 percent after announcing its first ever drop in iPhone sales and its first decline in quarterly revenues since 2003.

But the market rallied after the Fed suggested it was less concerned about the global economic and financial landscape than during the first quarter of the year.

Higher oil prices meanwhile lifted petroleum-linked shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.3 percent to 18,041.55.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,095.15, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5 percent to 4,863.14.

Boeing climbed 2.9 percent despite disclosing a $156 million charge for unanticipated costs for a new Air Force tanker program. Analysts were heartened by other aspects of its earnings report, including Boeing's confirmation that annual earnings would not be affected by the charge.

Twitter shares dived 16.3 percent as growth in regular users appeared to stall, according to its first quarter earnings report, triggering more worries that the microblogging service is losing steam with its audience.

Other companies to report earnings included: Buffalo Wild Wings, down 10.8 percent; Boston Scientific, up 11.2 percent; eBay, up 3.2 percent; Chipotle Mexican Grill, down 6.4 percent; Mondelez International, up 3.3 percent; United Technologies, up 1.1 percent.