Wall Street drifted to a mixed close on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 1.55 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4,376.86, but held on to a gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74.08 points, or 0.2%, to 33,852.66. The Nasdaq composite rose 36.08 points, or 0.3% to 13,591.75. General Mills fell to one of the market's larger drops after the maker of Cheerios and Haagen-Dazs reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It sank 5.2% despite reporting stronger profit than expected and giving a forecast for upcoming results that was close to Wall Street's, the AP reports.
Other food companies also fell, including drops of 3.7% for J.M. Smucker, 3.5% for Conagra Brands and 1.7% for Kellogg. On the winning side of Wall Street was AeroVironment, which rose 4.9%. The maker of unmanned aircraft, tactical missile systems, and other equipment used by the US military and in Ukraine reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. It also gave a stronger forecast for upcoming results than analysts expected amid what it called a record backlog.
Cruise operators were also steaming ahead, continuing a strong year built on hopes for strong demand for vacations. Carnival jumped 8.9% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 and has more than doubled so far this year. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings gained 7.6%. A day earlier, other travel-related stocks helped lead the market after Delta Air Lines said it's still seeing pent-up demand from fliers looking to make up for lost time during the pandemic.
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