By Lauren Almeida and Asjylyn Loder

U.S. stocks were mixed Wednesday as investors looked to a batch of earnings reports from major companies.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1%.

The benchmarks have rallied to record heights since Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled last week that the central bank would likely cut interest rates. This week, he strengthened expectations of a July rate cut as he told an audience in Paris on Tuesday that the central bank is carefully monitoring downside risks to U.S. growth.

On Wednesday, industrial companies were the biggest drag on the S&P 500. Shares of railroad company CSX fell 8.7% after it cut its annual outlook late Tuesday, citing economic uncertainty and a recent shutdown of a major oil refinery it served. The fall was dragging down other railroad companies, with Norfolk Southern down 4.6% and Union Pacific slipping 4.4%.

Bank of America advanced 0.9% to $29.25 a share Wednesday after the second-largest bank in the U.S. by assets reported higher earnings, lifted by consumer banking and wealth management. Netflix, eBay and Alcoa are due to report later in the day.

Amazon shares were down 0.2% after the European Commission said it would launch an antitrust investigation into its dealings with third-party merchants. The online retail giant fell 0.6% Tuesday. The probe is part of a wider push from the European Union against U.S. tech giants such as Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 switched between small losses and gains after a mixed session in Asia. Telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson suffered one of the biggest falls on concerns about higher costs that led to a narrower-than-expected operating margin, according to Citigroup analysts.

The yield on 10-year Treasurys fell to 2.084% Wednesday from 2.124% Tuesday, according to Tradeweb. Yields fall when bond prices rise.

U.S. benchmark oil futures rose 0.7% to $58.04 a barrel. Gold was up 0.1% to $1,412.70 per troy ounce.

Bitcoin fell, trading below $10,000 for a second day as U.S. senators questioned Facebook over its proposed Libra cryptocurrency, highlighting the skepticism that digital-coin systems face from regulators. Bitcoin has lost almost a third of its value, according to research site CoinDesk, after trading above $13,000 a week ago.

Write to Lauren Almeida at lauren.almeida@wsj.com and Asjylyn Loder at asjylyn.loder@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2019 10:43 ET (14:43 GMT)

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