U.S. Stocks Close Little Changed After Recovering From Early Sell-Off

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply lower in early trading on Wednesday but staged a significant recovery over the course of the session. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session, with the Dow finishing the day just above the unchanged line.

After falling by more than 450 points early in the session, the Dow inched up 9.88 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 33,743.84.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 edged down just 0.73 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 4,016.22, while the Nasdaq dipped 20.91 points or 0.2 percent to 11,313.36 after plunging as much as 2.3 percent.

The early sell-off on Wall Street largely reflected a negative reaction to earnings news from some big-name companies.

Software Microsoft (MSFT) showed a steep drop in early trading reporting its fiscal second quarter results after the close of trading on Tuesday.

Microsoft reported second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates but provided disappointing revenue guidance for the current quarter.