Wall Street lower despite robust bank results US equity markets were mixed on Wednesday as investors greeted a batch of strong earnings results from some of Wall Street's leading banks with muted enthusiasm. The benchmark S&P 500 fell fractionally to 1,472.20 as most sectors on the index traded in negative territory just before midday in New York. Financial sector stocks lost 0.2 per cent despite robust results from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, which reported their performance for the final three months of last year on Wednesday. Shares in Goldman Sachs rallied after the investment bank said quarterly net profits nearly tripled to $2.8bn. The results, which were helped by growth in the bank's lending business, were the best for the bank since the first quarter of 2010. Shares in the company rose 2.6 per cent to $139.06, and are up more than 40 per cent over the past year. Roger Freeman, analyst at Barclays, said in spite of recent strength Goldman's stock still looked attractively priced relative to the value of its assets. He added: "That said, macro conditions still remain somewhat murky, and core activity-based revenues still need to move higher." Gains for JPMorgan Chase were more limited as its shares crept 0.2 per cent higher to $46.41. The bank's stock had traded lower for much of the morning even as its fourth-quarter results comfortably beat consensus estimates. The bank said it had decided to halve the bonus for its chief executive Jamie Dimon, for management shortcomings that allowed the bank to suffer more than $6bn in trading losses last year. Bank of New York Mellon , the world's largest custodian bank, reported a 23 per cent jump in fourth-quarter earnings. But its shares fell 2.5 per cent to $26.11 as analysts said the low interest rate environment would continue to hamper the bank's performance. Northern Trust Corp , the investment management company, lost 3.3 per cent to $51.06 as it fell short of analysts" consensus profit forecasts due to weakness in its foreign exchange trading income. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2 per cent to 13,511.42 as the blue chip index was dragged lower by losses in Boeing , the aircraft manufacturer. Shares in the company lost 3.3 per cent to $74.44 after it suffered another setback when one of its new Dreamliner 787 planes was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off in Japan. The move sparked a decision by Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways to ground their entire fleets of the Boeing aircraft for inspection. Analysts warned that shares would experience further near-term weakness as investigations into the incidents continue. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.3 per cent to 3,118.76. Apple , which had fallen by more than a quarter from its September high, recovered 3.6 per cent to $503.64. The iPhone maker had come under increased pressure during the previous two trading sessions on worries that demand for its smartphone was waning. Dell shares remained volatile and fell 4.3 per cent to $12.60 as investors speculated on reports that the company may be taken private by Silver Lake Partners, a tech-focused buy-out group. Research in Motion shares gained 3.9 per cent to $15.04, adding to its recent run ahead of the release of its latest smartphone. Shares in Genworth Financial , the life insurer, soared after it announced plans to spin-off its mortgage insurance business. The stock added 11.4 per cent to $9.06. Chipotle Mexican Grill shares fell 5.9 per cent to $279.68 after the fast-food restaurant chain warned that fourth-quarter profits would miss estimates because of higher food costs. Fresh economic data released on Wednesday showed that consumer prices increased slightly in December while industrial production rose for the second month in a row, signalling a recovery after an uneven year.