Stocks waver as hopes for European debt plan fade

By Melinda Peer, TheStreet

Updated at 1:01 p.m. ET

Stocks were stuck in mixed territory Wednesday as investors appeared less certain that European leaders will be able to negotiate a definitive plan to address the region's debt crisis by the end of the day’s summit.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) was up 30.9 points, or 0.2%, at 11,737. The S&P 500 ($INX) was losing 1.1 points, or 0.09%, at 1,227, and the Nasdaq ($COMPX) was shedding 20.2 points, or 0.7%, at 2,618.

Initial momentum surrounding the European Union summit fell flat shortly after the German parliament passed legislation to leverage the European bailout fund. According to a Bloomberg report, European Union leaders may ask finance ministers to figure out the capacity of the expanded eurozone emergency rescue fund by the end of November, further delaying details of a plan for the region's sovereign debt crisis. On Tuesday, European Union finance ministers canceled a Wednesday meeting that was scheduled to take place before the summit.

European leaders are still figuring out how big banks' writedowns on Greek debt will be and how the eurozone rescue fund will be expanded. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Greek debt held by private investors would likely be cut by 50% and banks would exchange current bonds for new 30-year bonds carrying a 6% coupon and 15% in cash.

In Europe, London's FTSE rose 0.5% and Germany's DAX lost 0.6%. Overnight, Asian markets saw a mixed close. Japan's Nikkei Average slipped 0.2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5%.

The dollar index, a measure of the dollar's value against a basket of currencies, was gaining 0.365%, and the euro was rising 0.48% against the greenback.

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Wednesday’s economic releases were also contributing to the session’s more optimistic tone.  

The U.S. Census Bureau said durable goods orders fell 0.8% in September after a 0.1% decline in August. Economists had expected to see a decline of 1%. Excluding transportation, orders rose 1.7%, outpacing estimates for a 0.5% increase. 

September new-home sales climbed 5.7% to an adjusted annual rate of 313,000 from a revised increase of 296,000 in August. The data topped estimates of an increase to 302,000.

In the latest earnings news, Dow component Boeing (BA) reported a third-quarter profit of $1.46 a share, compared with expectations for earnings of $1.10 a share. The company also hiked its year-end guidance to above consensus estimates. Shares were rising 4.1% to $66.34.

Boeing was trading at the top of the Dow followed by Verizon (VZ) and Caterpillar (CAT).

Tech components Microsoft (MSFT) and Cisco (CSCO) were among the Dow’s biggest laggards.

Ford (F) said quarterly profits slipped on higher commodity prices and financial service weakness. The automaker reported a profit of 41 cents a share on sales of $33.1 billion, compared with the earnings of 44 cents a share on revenue of $29.9 billion that Wall Street had projected. The stock was shedding 6.8% to $11.58.

Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) were falling 11.3% to $201.45 after the company reported lackluster earnings Tuesday. The online retail giant missed estimates by 10 cents with earnings of $63 million, or 14 cents a share, on sales of $10.9 billion. The company also said it would likely report an operating loss of $200 million for the fourth quarter.

Sprint (S) posted a smaller-than-expecte​d third-quarter loss of 10 cents a share on revenue of $8.3 billion. Analysts had been forecasting a loss of 22 cents a share on sales of $8.4 billion. The stock was losing 10.1% to $2.42.

Wellpoint (WLP), the largest health insurer based on membership, exceeded analysts’ profit expectations by 9 cents with earnings of $1.77 a share. The company also said it added 169,000 members in the quarter. Shares were rising 2% to $68.34.

Chip maker Broadcom (BRCM) disappointed Wall Street with a weak fourth-quarter outlook late Tuesday, sending shares down 3.7% at $34.46.

In other news, former director of Goldman Sachs (GS) Rajat Gupta is expected to surrender to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday on criminal charges of leading inside information to Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury was losing 9/32, lifting the yield to 2.146%.

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Gold for December delivery was gaining $15.40 at $1,715.80 an ounce and the December crude oil contract was shedding $1.68 at $91.49 a barrel.