Stocks Open Mixed as Investors Weigh Corporate Earnings

Stocks opened mixed as investors mulled over the latest earnings report from Citigroup and GE that beat expectations. The Dow rose 5 points to 8130 while Nasdaq slipped 5 points to 1664.

On the upside

GE (NYSE: GE) posted a sharp drop in earnings as its finance arm continued to wrestle with loan losses, but the results surpassed expectations.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) reported a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion which was better than analysts' estimates.

Tyco Electronics (NYSE: TEL) announced the sale of its wireless systems business to government contractor Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS) for $675 million in cash.

On the downside

Shares of Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) opened lower after the search engine giant posted lower revenues and higher profits due to cost-cutting.

Specialty chemical maker Cytec Industries (NYSE: CYT) reported a 1st quarter loss and cut its dividend. Analysts promptly downgraded the stock.

A.O. Smith (NYSE: AOS) posted lower profits and lowered its 2009 outlook due to slowing demand for water-heating equipment.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 5 to 4 on the NYSE, but lagged by a slim margin on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks held steady at 473.