Briefly

Stocks end mostly lower, Dow edges higher

Stocks ended mostly lower Wednesday, led by drops in energy companies that fell along with the price of crude oil.

The Dow Jones industrials bucked the downward trend and managed a small gain, the Dow’s ninth straight and enough to mark another record high.

Marathon Oil sank 3.8 percent and Devon Energy lost 2.9 percent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,362.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 32 points, or 0.2 percent, to 20,775.

Key world trade deal takes effect after countries ratify it

The World Trade Organization says the first multilateral trade agreement reached by the trade body since it was created over a generation ago has entered into force, aiming to streamline cross-border trade and lower its costs to the benefit of the developing world in particular.

WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo says the required two-thirds of member states have now ratified it.

Azevedo said Wednesday that estimates show full implementation of the deal would reduce trade costs globally by an average of more than 14 percent.

Amid concerns about possible U.S. protectionism under President Donald Trump, Azevedo said he had not spoken with any administration officials on trade, but noted that the U.S. was among the first countries to ratify the agreement.

High court ruling limits reach of patent laws

The Supreme Court has sided with California-based Life Technologies Corp. in a patent infringement case that limits the international reach of U.S. patent laws.

The justices ruled unanimously Wednesday that the company’s shipment of a single part of a patented invention for assembly in another country did not violate patent laws.

Life Technologies supplied an enzyme used in DNA analysis kits to a plant in London and combined it with several other components to make kits sold worldwide.

Wisconsin-based Promega Corp. sued, arguing that the kits infringed a U.S. patent.

A jury awarded $52 million in damages to Promega.

A federal judge set aside the verdict and said the law did not cover export of a single component.

A federal appeals court reversed and reinstated the verdict.

Americans buy existing homes at fastest pace in a decade

Americans shrugged off rising mortgage rates and bought existing homes in January at the fastest pace since 2007. The National Association of Realtors says home sales rose 3.3 percent last months from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million.

Steady job gains, modest pay raises and rising consumer confidence are spurring healthy home buying even as borrowing costs have risen since last fall. Some potential buyers may be accelerating their home purchases to get ahead of additional increases in mortgage rates.

Industry: Philly soda tax killing sales; layoffs loom

Some Philadelphia supermarkets and beverage distributors say they’re gearing up for layoffs because the city’s new soda tax has cut beverage sales by 30 to 50 percent, worse than the city predicted.

An owner of six supermarkets tells The Philadelphia Inquirer he expects to cut 300 jobs, and a soft drink distributor predicts a 20 percent workforce reduction.