Boeing glides higher on aircraft deal hopes Aerospace group Boeing made early gains but closed flat as a mixed earnings season continued to drive buying and selling of US stocks. Reports that the company was near an $87bn deal to sell its 777X aircraft to four airlines sent shares higher in morning trading but closed almost unchanged at $129.65 Boeing has shaken off issues with its new 787 Dreamliner that caused concern earlier in the year as well as US government cuts that hit the company's defence products. Boeing stock is now up 72 per cent on the year to date as demand for its passenger jets remains high. Boeing's rise helped the industrials sector to avoid the sharpest selling, with the group off 0.4 per cent. The S&P 500 finished down 0.5 per cent to 1,763.31, driven by selling that began after the Federal Reserve said it would continue its quantitative easing program but added that tapering could still begin before the end of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also set a new peak in early Wednesday trading before finishing off 0.4 per cent to 15,618.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.6 per cent to 3,930.62, but was helped by a 1.6 per cent rise in Apple to $524.90, the heaviest weighted stock on the technology index. Facebook announced earnings that beat expectations in an announcement after the close of trading, sending shares up as much as 15 per cent but falling back to trade up about two per cent in after hours trading. Diluted earnings per share came in at 25 cents, more than double its previous year-on-year earnings and well above the average analyst estimate of 19 cents Trading was broadly mixed with investors focusing on companies reporting earnings. General Motors rose 3.2 per cent to $37.23 as the company posted third-quarter earnings per share that beat estimates on improved margins and narrower losses in Europe. GM stock has risen almost 30 per cent in 2013 as the US auto market steadily improved. Social network LinkedIn dropped 9.3 per cent to $224.11 after the company issued lower than expected guidance for the fourth quarter. Unique visitors and page views also fell, according to data from ComScore. Online review website Yelp fell 2.6 per cent to $67.05 after reporting a loss of 4 cents per share, which came in well below expected earnings per share of 3 cents. Restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings rose 9 per cent to $141.22 after posting third-quarter earnings per share of 95 cents that beat expectations, along with a 67 per cent rise in profit. Western Union was one of the worst performers on the S&P 500, off 12.4 per cent to $16.85. The company reported earnings per share that beat expectations but also said expenses related to regulation were rising. Investors were cheered by optimism from Electronic Arts chief executive Andrew Wilson, who said the release of new consoles boded well for the video game company, which raised its earnings forecasts. EA shares were up 7.8 per cent to $26.00. DreamWorks Animation SKG rose 17.4 per cent to $32.65 after the company beat analyst revenue estimates, helped by better than expected performances from some of its movies that had initially disappointed. US equity indices were broadly mixed with the S&P 500 nearly evenly split between stocks in positive and negative territory, ahead of a statement later in the day from the Federal Reserve on its quantitative easing programme. The consensus view indicated that the Fed would again extend its stimulus programme, offering a continued environment of high liquidity for stocks. But easing is not the only reason to feel confident that US equities are set to move higher through the end of the year, said Mark Lehmann, president of JMP Securities. "You've got a very favourable backdrop given a few factors that will make the market seem attractive to new investors for the rest of the year," he said, noting that stabilising interest rates, adequate corporate earnings and avoidance of the debt ceiling had cheered investors. Those factors are helping to drive money that has been on the sidelines into the equity markets, providing a tailwind into the winter, he added. "Memories are quite short and the width of the participation this year is telling me that more people are participating as we speak," Mr Lehmann said.