NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is hanging near its record heights Tuesday as earnings reporting season for big U.S. companies gets going.

The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 144 points, or 0.4%, a day after topping 38,000 for the first time. The Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher as of 1:25 p.m. Eastern time.

3M tumbled 11.4% after the maker of Post-it notes and Command strips gave a forecast for earnings this upcoming year that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Johnson & Johnson was another weight on the market and fell 1.3% after reporting weaker profit for the latest quarter than expected.

They helped overshadow a 4.5% climb for Procter & Gamble, which posted stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company behind Charmin and Olay benefited from price hikes for is products, and it raised its forecast for profit for this full fiscal year.

United Airlines flew 7.2% higher after it also reported stronger profit for the last three months of 2023 than analysts expected. It made more in revenue from customers in both basic economy and premium seats, though it warned it may lose money in the first three months of this year because of the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes.

Earnings season is kicking into gear, and more than a dozen companies in the S&P 500 reported their latest quarterly results Tuesday morning. More than 50 are scheduled to follow up later this week, including Tesla and Intel.

Among Tuesday’s headliners was Verizon Communications, which rose 5.7% after beating analysts’ profit estimates. General Electric also topped expectations, but its stock slipped 0.1% after it gave a forecast for profit this quarter that fell short of analysts’ forecasts. Homebuilder D.R. Horton sank 9.6% after reporting weaker profit than expected.

Expectations are relatively low for companies’ profits at the end of 2023. Analysts have forecast companies in the S&P 500 will deliver weaker overall earnings per share than a year earlier, which would be the fourth such decline in the last five quarters, according to FactSet.

Stocks have nevertheless rallied to records, and the S&P 500 returned to an all-time high last week for the first time in two years. Much of that is because of expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates several times this year after hiking them dramatically the last two years.

Such cuts can boost prices for investments while relaxing the pressure on the economy and financial system. The Federal Reserve itself has said it may cut rates three times this year as inflation cools, which would allow the central bank to loosen its leash on the economy.

Treasury yields have already eased significantly since the autumn on expectations for coming rate cuts, though critics warn traders may have gone overboard again in forecasting how many cuts will come and how soon the Fed will begin.

Yields were mixed in the bond market Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.15% from 4.11% late Monday, though it remains well below its 5% level during October.

The “everything rally” that began late last year on hopes for a pivot by the Fed likely caused mutual-fund managers to scramble to boost their ownership of stocks to keep up. Even when stocks took a mini-breather at the start of 2024, investors seemed to “remain little concerned with downside risk,” according to strategists at Barclays led by Venu Krishna. That could leave “less room for fundamental upside from here.”

In stock markets abroad, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.6% to recover some of its sharp losses for the year so far on hopes that Chinese authorities may make moves to shore up markets. The Hang Seng is still down nearly 10% so far in the young year on worries about a weak recovery for the world’s second-largest economy.

In Japan, one of the world’s best performers for the year so far slipped even though the Bank of Japan kept its interest-rate policies at ultra-easy levels. The Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1% after analysts took comments by a bank official as hints that hikes to rates may be coming this year.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania State Police is working to recover access to online records of how it handled evidence, state officials said, blaming the loss of the records on a mistake during routine server maintenance

The same mistake also affected the State Employees Retirement System, which said online users temporarily lost access to a member services system this month.

State officials downplayed the effect on the agencies.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Office of Administration blamed “human error” by a state employee who was performing routine server maintenance on Jan. 3. It did not elaborate, but said it was reviewing and updating internal information technology processes to prevent it from happening again.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg/Pennlive.com first reported the matter.

Lost were records contained in a pair of applications that the state police use to manage evidence submissions and log evidence into police labs for testing, officials said.

The Office of Administration said the physical evidence remains secure and was never endangered. The state police said the agency has recovered some of the records and is operating on a temporary system to track and receive evidence.

County prosecutors were notified of the missing records nearly two weeks ago.

Dauphin County’s district attorney, Fran Chardo, told The Patriot-News of Harrisburg/Pennlive.com that his office keeps paper records of the data it stores on the state’s server. Cumberland County’s district attorney, Sean McCormick, said the county has its own forensic lab.

The retirement system said no pension data has been lost, although the agency earlier this month notified account users that it could not provide access to an online system that provides members with an up-to-date, albeit unofficial, snapshot of their benefit data.

Agency staff brought that service back online Jan. 16, although users had to verify their identity and create a new four-digit personal identification number, the agency said.

Users also lost pension calculations they had saved in their online member services account while some smaller agencies were told to re-enter any partially entered or unposted batches of personnel and payroll data, the agency said.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Due to the recent cold spell, gas prices in Western Pennsylvania are on the rise for the first time in 2024. According to AAA East Central’s latest report, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline has increased to $3.40. That average is three cents up from last week’s $3.37 a gallon, and down 37 cents from the average of $3.77 one year ago.

Beaver County has also seen its gas prices rise by three cents, moving  from $3.44/gallon last week to $3.47/gallon this week. Butler jumps four cents from $3.43/gallon last week to $3.47/gallon this week, and Pittsburgh jumps four cents as well from $3.41/gallon to $3.45/gallon.

Despite the regional increase, the national average is currently at $3.07 for the third straight week according to AAA East Central.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                        $3.401
Average price during the week of January 16, 2024                                         $3.372
Average price during the week of January 23, 2023                                         $3.779

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.272      Altoona
$3.470      Beaver
$3.596      Bradford
$3.205      Brookville
$3.472      Butler
$3.348      Clarion
$3.273      DuBois
$3.239      Erie
$3.486      Greensburg
$3.485      Indiana
$3.493      Jeannette
$3.643      Kittanning
$3.498      Latrobe
$3.195      Meadville
$3.346      Mercer
$3.109      New Castle
$3.454      New Kensington
$3.399      Oil City
$3.453      Pittsburgh
$3.269      Sharon
$3.470      Uniontown
$3.599      Warren
$3.443      Washington

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Local veterans will now have free shuttle service between the Beaver County VA Clinic in Rochester and the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center on University Drive in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. The announcement was made by Congressman Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania’s 17th District, who serves as a vice ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

The vans (which are ADA-accessible) will depart the Beaver County VA Clinic located at 300 Brighton Ave in Rochester at 7:30am to arrive in time for 9:00am appointments at the Oakland campus. The van will leave University Drive at 2:00pm to return to Beaver County at approximately 3:30pm. There will be a designated space for veterans to wait for their appointments throughout the morning.

Veterans who want to use the shuttle should therefore schedule appointments between 9:00am-1:00pm on Tuesdays beginning February 6, 2024.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

39-year-old Nicole Farris of Rochester was arrested by State Police on Sunday following a single-vehicle crash in Bridgewater.

According to the report from the Beaver barracks, police responded to 1435 Sharon Road early Sunday morning where they found a pickup truck stuck after crashing into a tree stump. It was determined that the driver of the vehicle had fled the scene, and Farris was found a short time later by police in a state of intoxication.

No injuries were reported. DUI charges have been filed against Farris.

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed Tuesday, while Hong Kong and Shanghai advanced after a report said Beijing plans to put about 2 trillion yuan ($278 billion) into supporting ailing Chinese markets.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX lost 0.2% to 16,651.29 and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.3% to 7,394.04. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged less than 3 points higher, to 7,491.07.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1%.

An unconfirmed report by Bloomberg cited unnamed sources saying that China plans to tap offshore funds held by Chinese state-owned enterprises and also local funds to stabilize the markets.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped more than 3% but fell back slightly, ending the day up 2.6% at 15,353.98. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.5% to 2,770.98.

Shanghai’s benchmark fell 2.7% on Monday, nearing its lowest levels since 2019, China’s Premier Li Qiang told a meeting of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, that more had to be done to improve the quality of listed companies and to beef up supervision of markets, the financial news outlet Caixing reported.

The Hang Seng was down about 12% so far this year as of Monday’s close. It got an extra boost Tuesday from news that China’s National Press and Publications Administration had removed from its website the full text of draft regulations for online gaming that recently had caused sharp losses for technology companies.

A consultation period for the rules ended on Monday and it was unclear when or if a revised set of rules might be released.

Investors have pulled out of China markets as the country’s recovery from the shocks of the pandemic has faltered. Last year, Beijing posted its first quarterly deficit in foreign direct investment since it began reporting the data in 1998.

Even if a substantial rescue plan helps staunch losses, it might not be a panacea if it falls short of building the confidence needed to sustain market stability, Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.

“China’s sustained sell-off is taking place despite the rally in global equities. And rather than a delayed convergence in relative shifts, with the re-opening in China, the divergence has only worsened over time,” Tan said.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gave up earlier gains to edge 0.1% lower, closing at 36,517.57. It has been nudging closer to its all-time record of 38957.44 set in December 1989, before the implosion of a financial bubble that ushered in an era of slowing growth.

Wrapping up a two-day policy meeting, the Bank of Japan cited “extremely high uncertainties surrounding economies and financial markets at home and abroad” in saying it would continue its ultra-lax monetary policy, with its benchmark interest rate staying at minus 0.1%.

A policy statement also said the central bank “will not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary.”

Speculation that the BOJ would end the negative interest rate policy, put in place to spur spending and investment, has pulled the Japanese yen sharply lower. As of Tuesday morning, the U.S. dollar bought 147.28 yen, down slightly from 148.11 yen late Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.6% to 2,478.61 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 7,514.90.

Bangkok’s SET sank 0.6% and India’s Sensex lost 1.1%.

On Monday, the S&P 500 added 0.2%. The Dow topped 38,000 points, rising 0.4% to 38,001.81. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%.

This week will bring a rush of companies reporting their results for the last three months of 2023, with roughly 70 companies from the S&P 500 on the calendar. They include American Airlines, Intel, Procter & Gamble and Tesla.

On Thursday, the government will give its first estimate for how strongly the economy grew during the last three months of 2023.

Economists expect it to show the economy is still growing, but at a slower pace than during the summer. That’s what the Federal Reserve wants to see, because too strong of an economy would keep upward pressure on inflation.

On Friday, the government will release the latest reading for the inflation gauge that the Fed prefers to use. Economists expect it to show inflation held steady at 2.6% in December from a month earlier.

Treasury yields have eased significantly since October on expectations for coming rate cuts. That in turn has relaxed the pressure considerably on the stock market and helped it to rip higher. Yields dipped further on Monday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.13% early Tuesday, down from 4.13% late Friday and from 5% in October.

In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 28 cents to $75.04 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 26 cents to $80.32 per barrel.

The euro rose to $1.0899 from $1.0884.