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New York - Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of a key eurozone meeting at which finance ministers will consider Greece's plan to avoid a debt default.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17 822.07, down 46.69 points (0.26%).
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.83 (0.04%) to 2 067.76 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 10.69 (0.22%) at 4 798.33.
The early weakness came ahead of the Brussels meeting at which Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was expected to unveil a plan to win stop-gap financing and overhaul its international bailout. The new Greek government has railed against the austerity measures imposed by the financial rescue.
Strong earnings from Pepsi and others failed to ignite much buying interest "probably because traders are anxious about getting tripped up by the wires that will be releasing headlines from the Eurogroup meeting," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
Beverage and snacks giant Pepsi advanced 2.1% after reporting fourth-quarter earnings of $1.12 per share, four cents ahead of analyst expectations.
Media giant Time Warner rose 0.3% as fourth-quarter earnings of 98 cents per share bested expectations by five cents. Higher revenues in its HBO segment offset disappointing movie ticket sales.
Food company Mondelez International rose 3% as 2014 profit climbed 8.9% to $3bn thanks in part to cost-cutting initiatives. The company warned the strong dollar will drag on results in 2015.
Electric-car manufacturer Tesla Motors fell 2.8% ahead of its earnings release scheduled after the market closes. Some news outlets said the results will show weakness in China.
Furniture and housewares chain Pier 1 Imports slumped 28.6% after it disclosed that holiday shopping results were "well below" expectations. It also announced that chief financial officer Charles Turner was retiring and would be replaced by Laura Coffey, a 17-year veteran of the company.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury held steady at 1.99%, while the 30-year rose to 2.59% from 2.58% on Tuesday.
