Markets have lost early momentum and are headed toward breakeven for the day. Mixed economic data is once again leaving traders without a clear direction and has stocks stuck in neutral. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.69%) is flat as of 3:20 p.m. EDT, and the S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.20%) is up just 0.1%.
The one big winner on the Dow is Procter & Gamble (PG 0.60%), which reported earnings that might underwhelm the casual observer but were still ahead of analysts' estimates. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $1.06 per share in the quarter, which was well ahead of the $0.96 expectation. But revenue fell 5% to $20.7 billion, and that's hardly a good sign for P&G or the global economy. Still, investors have pushed P&G's shares 2.7% higher today.
Airplane maker Boeing (BA -0.76%) is in the doldrums this week despite reporting a solid quarter. The stock is down 2.4% after supplier Spirit AeroSystems (SPR -2.34%) reported huge third-quarter charges due in part to products it makes for Boeing. I wouldn't read into this move too much, as Boeing raised its full-year forecast just yesterday.
Elsewhere in trading, gold is up 0.73% today, while oil has climbed 0.44%. Oil has been crushed recently over concerns over growth in the global economy.
