Indexes finish mixed as earnings season begins

NEW YORK — Most U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, but indexes petered out to a mixed finish as momentum weakened following an encouraging start to what’s expected to be a thunderous earnings reporting season.

The S&P 500 fell 16.93 points, or 0.4%, to 4,124.66, a day after returning to an all-time high. It flipped between small gains and losses several times through the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.62 points, or 0.2%, to 33,730.89 after rising above its record set last week earlier in the day. The Nasdaq composite lost an early gain to drop 138.26, or 1%, to 13,857.84.

The market was held back by drops for several heavyweight tech stocks, including Apple and Amazon, but the majority of stocks within the S&P 500 rose.

Smaller companies also rallied amid growing optimism as COVID-19 vaccines roll out and businesses reopen. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks climbed 18.79, or 0.8%, to 2,247.72.

Shares of Coinbase Global, an exchange for bitcoin and other digital currencies, surged in their market debut, perhaps a defining moment for cryptocurrencies as they get embraced more by the mainstream.

Its stock opened at $381, after the Nasdaq earlier gave it a $250 reference price. It quickly rallied toward $430 before closing at $328.28. At that price, investors say the company is worth more than $85 billion.

Interest in and prices for cryptocurrencies have been exploding recently as more companies and investors get involved. Coinbase turned a profit last year after more than reversing a $30.4 million loss from the year before, and it expects growth to continue because it sees the cryptoeconomy producing “a more fair, accessible, efficient and transparent financial system for the internet age.”

Much of the market’s focus in coming weeks will be on earnings season, as companies line up to report how much profit they made during the first three months of 2021. Expectations are very high, and this may be the best quarter of earnings growth for S&P 500 companies in more than a decade.