Jim Chesko reporting...
Stocks ended mostly lower today, with the Dow Industrials pushed down - 135-points -- by a big tumble in shares of 3M.
The S&P 500 slipped 1 point, but the Nasdaq Composite rose 16.
After the closing bell, Amazon, Ford and Starbucks posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Citing “tough market conditions,” Valero Energy says its first-quarter profits slid 70% from a year ago. It blamed some of that on Canada’s move to trim production and shrink discounts on heavy oil … as well as the U.S. imposing sanctions on Venezuela. Still, Valero’s results weren’t as bad as analysts had expected, and shares jumped 3.5% today.
Oil futures ended modestly lower for a second-straight session, after Wednesday’s report showing a hefty gain in weekly U.S. crude stockpiles. June crude today fell 68 cents, or 1%, to settle at $65.21 a barrel.