US stocks drift near their records as gold's price falls again

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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting near their record heights on Wall Street, while the price of gold falls again to trim more off its tremendous gain for the year. The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading Wednesday and is sitting just underneath its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also flat, coming off its own record. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%. Bank stocks climbed after Capital One Financial, Western Alliance Bancorp and others reported stronger profits for the summer than expected. Netflix, whose stock has soared this year, fell after delivering weaker-than-expected results.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street futures dipped modestly early Tuesday as markets digest another full slate of corporate earnings in the absence of economic data due to the government shutdown.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each ticked down 0.1% before the bell, while Nasdaq futures fell 0.3%.

Gold continued to decline following its worst day in more than five years, though that came after the precious metal plowed through record highs all year long. Gold futures fell 1.4% early Wednesday, following Tuesday's 5.3% slide. It's still up about 54% this year.

Netflix skidded 6.4% overnight after the video streamer missed Wall Street's profit target for the first time in seven quarters. The Los Gatos, California company cited an unexpected $619 million expense tied to a Brazilian tax dispute for the earnings shortfall, spooking some investors. Some analysts brushed off the tax issue, saying it was not a concern and that the company's fundamentals remained strong.

Beyond Meat continued its wild ride upward, climbing another 73% in premarket trading, to $6.28 per share. That's after its shares more than doubled in each of the past two days as speculation grew that the meat substitute company has become the latest meme stock.

Part of Beyond's rise could be due to a recent announcement that Walmart had agreed to expand the company's product lineup at close to half of its U.S. stores. It's also the top holding in the recently launched Roundhill Meme Stock ETF.

Last week, Beyond Meat shares lost nearly three-quarters of their value on heavy trading volume.

Electric automaker Tesla reports its latest results after the closing bell Wednesday.

Investors have been relying on corporate earnings reports to provide details on the strength of the U.S. economy at a time when the U.S. government’s shutdown has delayed important economic updates. That’s making the job of the Federal Reserve more difficult, as it tries to decide whether high inflation or the slowing job market is the bigger issue for the economy.

Despite the shutdown, the Commerce Department will release its consumer prices report on Friday, which could help guide the Fed’s interest rate policy. It will be the government’s first data release since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.

In Asian trading, Chinese markets retreated after U.S. President Donald Trump cast doubt on whether or not he will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this month.

“Maybe it won't happen, maybe it won't happen,” he said while hosting a lunch for Republican senators at the White House.

However, Trump also said he was expecting “to do well” in negotiations with China.

Trump is traveling in the next several days to Japan and South Korea, in part, to finalize the terms of investments from those countries as part of an agreement to minimize the tariff rates Trump is charging on foreign goods.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.9% to 25,781.77, while the Shanghai Composite index inched down less than 0.1% to 3,913.76.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 wavered between slight gains and losses a day after its parliament chose Sanae Takaichi to be its first female prime minister.

It closed almost flat at 49,307.79, pulled lower by declines for tech companies like SoftBank Group Corp., whose shares fell nearly 5%.

The government reported that Japan’s exports grew 4.2% in September from a year earlier, boosted by robust shipments to Asia that offset a 13% decline in those destined for the U.S. Auto shipments fell 24% as they were hit hard by Trump’s tariff hikes.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7% to 9,030.00, while South Korea's Kospi rose 1.6% to 3,883.68.

In Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.5%, the German DAX dipped 0.3%.

Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.6% after data showed that inflation in the U.K. unexpectedly held steady in the first three quarters of the year. Analysts had been expecting a significant increase, so the flat reading bolstered hopes that inflation has peaked and will back down toward its target over the coming months.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 96 cents, or 1.7%, to $58.20 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 95 cents to $62.27 a barrel.