US stocks trade mixed following quarterly reports

US stocks are mixed in early trading as investors are looking at a mix of earnings reports and watching the price of oil tick higher.

Among the latest companies to report, Verizon Communications Inc. says its second-quarter profit rose 12 percent, although revenue came in short of Wall Street's forecasts. Kraft Foods Inc. says higher prices helped offset rising commodity costs and listed second-quarter earnings nearly 4 percent. The company also raised its forecast for the year.

Beyond corporate news, investors are waiting to see if oil prices' sharp drop of recent weeks has come to an end, or is just pausing. Light, sweet crude rose 23 cents per barrel to $123.49 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 44.13, or 0.39 percent, to 11,326.56.

Broader stock indicators are higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.19, or 0.09 percent, to 1,258.95, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.65, or 0.11 percent, to 2,313.18. Stocks mostly fell last week as investors worried about the financial and housing sectors. The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced following several strong corporate reports in the sector.

(Agencies)