Weak Earnings Reports Weigh on the Stock Market

Stock indexes are moving between small gains and losses on Wall Street Friday after Goodyear Tire & Rubber and other companies turned in weak earnings reports.

Goodyear's stock sank 7 percent after the company said that a steep dropoff in sales in Europe delivered a blow to the company's earnings. The advertising conglomerate Interpublic also turned in results that fell short of analysts' forecasts.

The Dow Jones industrial average was little changed in early trading. After the first 45 minutes of trading it was up two points at 13,106.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up less than a point at 1,413 and the Nasdaq composite edged up seven to 2,993.

The market started higher after the government reported a pickup in economic growth. The Commerce Department estimated that the U.S. economy expanded at a 2 percent annual rate from July through September. That's better than the 1.3 percent growth in the April-June quarter and also higher than the 1.8 percent growth rate that analysts were expecting.

Goodyear slumped 87 cents to $11.44 after the company said its income plunged by one-third in the latest quarter, dragged down by lower tire sales in Europe. The company said more cost cuts were coming but it didn't provide specifics. Interpublic, a major advertising conglomerate, fell 38 cents to $10.17.

Internet domain name company Verisign dropped sharply after the company released weak results and said the government was investigating its pricing of .com addresses. Verisign fell $8.68 to $37.92, the biggest drop in the S&P 500 index.

Among other companies making big moves, cable TV provider Comcast jumped 98 cents to $37.33 after reporting that its income more than doubled in the latest quarter. Revenue was higher than analysts were expecting, and more customers signed up for premium services like high-definition video recorders.

Varian Medical Systems jumped $9.24, or 16 percent, to $67.34, the biggest increase in the S&P 500 index. The company, which sells medical imaging equipment and radiation-emitting devices for treating tumors, reported a 20 percent rise in income because of higher sales of devices.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)