Markets: News  

The S&P 500 is hovering above its flat line with a 0.2% gain in a mixed market. Advancing issues are roughly equal in number to declining issues at the NYSE and Nasdaq. Dow components Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 170.90, +4.94, +3.0%) and 3M (MMM 174.91, +4.51, +2.7%) are outperforming today after pleasing investors with their better-than-expected earnings reports, while Verizon (VZ 56.82, -1.60, -2.8%) and American Express (AXP 117.75, -3.41, -2.8%) trade sharply lower despite their positive results. Microsoft (MSFT 234.08, +4.4, +2.0%) is up 2.0% ahead of its earnings report after the close.