Stocks alternated between gains and losses on Wednesday as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continue their negotiations on a new fiscal stimulus package.
The Dow Jones Industrials reversed direction and lost 57.79 points to stop for lunch hour Wednesday at 28,251.
The S&P 500 faded 2.83 points to 3,440.23.
The NASDAQ slid 16.26 points to 11,500.23.
Snap shares led the way higher for tech, surging more than 30% on stronger-than-expected results for the previous quarter. Facebook rose 5.1%, and Google-parent Alphabet picked up 3% to follow Snap higher.
A slew of companies reported quarterly earnings after the bell on Tuesday, most notably Netflix. Shares of the streaming giant slipped 6.4% after the company missed earnings estimates, and reported fewer-than-expected subscriber additions.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Pelosi and Mnuchin have made “good progress” on stimulus talks. He added, however, that they “still have a ways to go” before an agreement is reached.
Following Pelosi and Mnuchin’s meeting on Tuesday, Meadows told reporters the two will talk again on Wednesday, and that he hopes to see “some kind of agreement before the weekend.”
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury retreated, lifting yields to 0.81% from Tuesday’s 0.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slumped $1.42 at $40.28 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $15.50 to $1,930.90