Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday, as a rally in AAPL shares and indications of a potential delayed interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve offset a continuing downturn in energy stocks and a rout among major cable companies.
Heavy losses in Disney shares helped extend a mild losing streak on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while the NASDAQ Composite Index and S&P Composite Index posted moderate gains to end two-day losing streaks of their own.
The Dow lost 10.22 or 0.06% to 17,540.47, amid a sell-off in Disney shares one day after the company downgraded its outlook for its cable networks in its quarterly earnings. Disney CEO Robert Iger further roiled the cable sector by issuing a warning that the company could modify its cable network model in an effort to grab a larger share of the video-streaming market. As a result, shares in Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOX), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) all fell by more than 4.5% on the session.
The NASDAQ Composite index rose 34.40 or 0.67% to 5,139.95, while the S&P 500 Composite index inched up 6.52 or 0.31% to 2,099.84. On the S&P 500, seven of 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Technology, Consumer Goods and Health Care sectors led.
The top performer on the Dow was UNH, which rose 3.18 or 2.63% to 124.02, as traders continued to react to the long-term ramifications of a wave of mergers in the health insurance industry over the last several weeks. Disney, the session's worst performer, plunged more than 9.3% to 110.33 – experiencing its worst trading day since the peak of the Financial Crisis.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI), which surged 3.04 or 11.84% to 28.71. The worst performer was Discovery Communications a (NASDAQ:DISCA), which plummeted more than 12% to 28.87, after its second quarter profits fell by approximately 25%.
On the S&P 500, First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) finished as the session's top performer two days after U.S. president Barack Obama sent coal stocks plunging after unveiled a comprehensive Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing carbon emissions by 32% by 2030. The worst performer was Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE:GNW), which fell nearly 20% after posting worse than expecting earnings for the second quarter.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 1,597 to 1.540 margin.