The tech sector was the worst performer in the S&P 500, under the weight of Apple's (AAPL) earnings miss and nearly 5% share price slide. However, the strong performances of Riverbed (RVBD), up 25%, and Juniper (JNPR), up 13%, were bright spots as the two announced a technology partnership and both reported results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Among Dow components, Boeing (BA) and Caterpillar (CAT) turned in better-than-expected​ quarters and raised their full-year earnings guidance, giving a lift to their stocks and buoying the index.

Among other large caps reporting earnings, PepsiCo (PEP), Broadcom (BRCM), Edwards Lifesciences (EW), Eli Lilly (LLY), ACE Limited (ACE) and Thermo Fisher (TMO) advanced, while Aflac (AFL), ConocoPhillips (COP), Corning (GLW), Lorillard (LO) and WellPoint (WLP) declined.

Among the notable gainers were InvenSense (INVN), up 29%, after Goldman Sachs recommended buying shares aggressively following its quarterly report and guidance, and Ancestry.com (ACOM), up 14%, following a New York Times report last night that said the company is nearing a sale to take itself private with talks centered on a $35 to $39 per share buyout price. Among the noteworthy losers were RadioShack (RSH), down 29%, as the company said business performed below expectations during Q2 and it suspended its dividend, and Netflix (NFLX), down 24%, following at least three downgrades after the company's Q2 results were better than expected but it warned it expects a loss in Q4 due to its next international market launch.