US stocks trade mixed in early trade, Dow outperforms on upbeat earnings

Major US equity indices witnessed a mixed opening on Wednesday, with upbeat results from Boeing helping the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average to hold in positive territory.

In the busiest week of third-quarter earnings, some 150 companies are slated to report quarterly results and investors will be looking for clues over the impact the US-China trade war on international companies. The assessment should offer more clarity about the US economic outlook and turn out to be a key driving force in the near-term.

Meanwhile, concerns about rising interest rates and signs of a global economic slowdown might continue to hurt investors’ sentiment. This combined with political troubles in Europe, over Italy's budget proposal and Brexit might further collaborate towards keeping a lid on any run-away rally, at least for the time being.

Moving ahead, speeches from a number of FOMC members - including Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester and Fed Governor Lael Brainard, will now be looked upon to grab some short-term trading opportunities. 

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied over 100-point to 25,294 and the broader S&P 500 Index treaded water near yesterday's closing level, around 2,742. Meanwhile, tech-heavy underperformed the markets and remained in correction territory, down around 8-points to 7,430.