NEW YORK — A rally over hopes for a debt-limit deal turned into a waiting game for investors.
One day after the Dow Jones industrial average had its best day this year, the stock market edged lower Wednesday. Analysts say concerns about lifting the U.S. debt limit outweighed strong earnings from Apple and a slew of new corporate deals.
“In this environment, stringing together a few days like (Tuesday) is going to be tough,” said Brad Sorensen of Charles Schwab.
Apparent progress on raising the U.S. debt limit launched a stock-market rally Tuesday. The Dow jumped 202 points. But investors woke up Wednesday to find Washington still at a stalemate. And with less than two weeks before the government risks defaulting on its debt, they are finding it hard to continue the celebration.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.51 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 12,571.91. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 0.89 points to 1,325.84. The Nasdaq composite fell 12.29 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,814.23.
Apple rose 2.7 percent after the company’s income doubled last quarter. Sales of Apple’s iPhones quadrupled in Asia.
The stock of Zillow, a real-estate website, jumped 79 percent to $35.77 in its first day of trading. Zillow’s initial public offering of stock priced at $20 late Tuesday.
Clorox rose 2.4 percent after billionaire investor Carl Icahn raised his bid for the company to $80 a share.
News of record earnings and new deals would usually brighten investors’ mood, Sorensen said. In the current earnings season, for instance, about 75 percent of companies in the S&P 500 have beaten analysts’ estimates. But larger worries about debt troubles in the U.S. and Europe are holding the market back.
“It’s causing investors and businesses and consumers to be concerned about the future,” he said.
European Union officials will hold an emergency summit today in Brussels. Many expect EU members to drum up a new aid package for Greece. Worries about Europe’s debt crisis have plagued markets for months. The results of stress tests on European banks released last week failed to calm fears that the crisis could soon turn worse.
