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US stocks end mostly higher

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US stocks have finished mixed following a round of mostly solid corporate earnings as the market shifted from a three-day slump.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday dipped 5.88 points (0.04 per cent) to 16,315.19.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.96 (0.16 per cent) to 1,877.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose a more robust 13.52 (0.32 per cent) to 4,227.17

US stocks were pummelled in the prior three sessions, with the S&P 500 losing nearly five per cent during that period on rising global growth fears.

Analysts said the market was primed for a shift on the belief that stocks were oversold in the short run.

Dow member JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank by assets, dropped 0.3 per cent as third-quarter earnings of $US1.36 per share missed analyst expectations by two US cents on mixed results across business units.

Citigroup rose 3.2 per cent as third-quarter earnings came in at $US1.15 per share, three US cents above analyst estimates following a nearly 10 per cent rise in revenues. The bank is ending consumer banking in 11 markets, including Japan.

Wells Fargo, another giant bank, reported a 2.0 per cent rise in earnings to $US5.4 billion ($A5.84 billion) in results that met expectations. Shares fell 2.7 per cent.

Dow member Johnson & Johnson fell 2.1 per cent despite the healthcare-products firm’s third-quarter earnings of $US1.66 per share, well above the $US1.44 projected by analysts.

Energy stocks were bruised by a nearly five per cent fall in US oil prices.

Dow member Chevron slid 2.0 per cent, ConocoPhillips fell 2.8 per cent and oil services company Schlumberger lost 2.2 per cent.

Airline stocks, which have suffered on concerns about the spread of the Ebola virus, rallied. American Airlines soared 10.3 per cent, while Delta Air Lines shot up 6.1 per cent.

Bond prices rose after the bond market’s holiday closure on Monday. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.21 per cent from 2.31 per cent on Friday, while the 30-year declined to 2.96 per cent from 3.04 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.