Stocks open mixed; Lowe's rises on earnings

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is little changed as investors pick over more earnings reports from retailers and other U.S. companies.

Consumer-focused stocks rose after home retailer Lowe's reported higher earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,161 shortly after the market opened Wednesday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell two points to 1,843 and the Nasdaq composite climbed a point to 4,288.

Lowe's climbed 4 percent after the company reported that its net income rose 6 percent in the most recent quarter as the company benefited from a housing recovery.

Barnes & Noble rose 5 percent after reporting a profit for its third fiscal quarter.

First Solar slumped 11 percent after reporting earnings that fell far short of what analysts were expecting.