New York, Jul 25 (IANS): US stocks ended mixed as Wall Street digested a slew of mixed earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.22 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 27,269.97 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 14.09 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 3,019.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 70.10 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 8,321.50, Xinhua reported.

Caterpillar shares slid 4.48 per cent after the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that both missed market expectations.

Boeing, another Dow component, also posted weaker-than-anticipated earnings for the previous quarter, sending the stock down 3.12 per cent at Wednesday's close.

Texas Instruments surged 7.44 per cent, leading the gainers in the tech-heavy Nasdaq, boosted by its stronger-than-expected quarterly results.

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed higher, with financials up 0.91 per cent, outpacing the rest. Consumer staples dipped 0.64 per cent, the worst-performing group.

About a quarter of S&P 500 companies had reported quarterly earnings through Wednesday's open. Of those companies, 78 per cent have posted better-than-expected profit, according to FactSet data.