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| - Strong profits from Apple and others helped the Dow edge higher Wednesday as more large companies moved to contain a SARS-like virus centered in China, but the broader market was more mixed. The biggest company by market capitalization, iPhone maker Apple jumped 2.1 percent after the Dow component reported record quarterly profits of $22 billion on revenues of $91.8 billion, also an all-time high. But Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook struck a somber tone over the spread of the deadly virus in China, a key market for and supplier to the company, while Starbucks, McDonald's and American Airlines were among the large companies curtailing China activities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1 percent to end at 28,734.45. The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.1 percent to 3,273.40, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.1 percent to 9.275.16. The mixed session came after the Federal Reserve, as expected, kept interest rates unchanged, but central bank Chairman Jerome Powell warned the virus remained a potential risk. Among other companies reporting results, Boeing gained 1.7 percent after announcing its first annual loss in more than two decades as a result of the protracted 737 MAX grounding. The company announced $9.2 billion in additional costs related to the MAX crisis, a huge number, but one that was lower than some analysts feared. General Electric surged 10.3 percent as it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits that included signs of stabilization in its slumping power business. But Starbucks dropped 2.1 percent as it announced that it closed half its China stores due to the coronavirus, and said it was too soon to project the potential financial hit from the situation. Among other companies reporting results, McDonald's gained 1.3 percent and Advanced Micro Devices dropped 6.0 percent. jmb/hs
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