MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Slip On Russia Worries

By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market, which opened markedly higher on positive earnings and upbeat data, turned lower after tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated with Moscow ordering military drills.

A 7% jump in Apple Inc's shares, the heaviest-weighed stock on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, initially lifted both indexes. But gains quickly turned to losses.

The S&P 500 (SPX) was trading 2 points, or 0.1%, lower at 1,872.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) lost 43 points, or 0.3%, to 16,457.50. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF), shed 10 points, or 0.2%, to 4,117.28.

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Ahead of the market open, a jump in durable-goods orders outweighed a bigger-than-expected rise in weekly jobless claims, sending stock futures higher. Orders for durable goods such as computers, aircraft and heavy machinery jumped 2.6% in March and posted the biggest gain in four months, offering another sign that the U.S. economy might be on the upswing after a winter-induced lull. The jump was far above expectations.

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose to the highest level in April, but most of the bump may have been related to a seasonal quirk tied to the Easter holiday.

At the center of attention, however, was Apple Inc., (AAPL) whose quarterly results topped Wall Street forecast and the company announced a 7-for-1 stock split. Also: Apple's split could pave way into Dow industrials, for whatever that's worth.

Shares jumped 7.5%, the best day for the stock since April 2012, when it rose 8.9% and accounted for more than a 4-point gain on the S&P 500, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indexes.

Facebook(FB) was not able to sustain the premarket gains and was trading 0.7% lower. The social network company posted first-quarter earnings that nearly tripled and revenue that jumped 72%, with both numbers blowing out forecasts.

Among companies reporting after the closing bell are Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN). Microsoft earnings: First time for new CEO Nadella.

Ahead of the open, economic bellwether Caterpillar (CAT) topped forecasts reporting a 4.8% increase in profits during the first quarter. Shares rose 2.7%.

General Motors (GM.XX) shares rose 1.5% after the company saw a profit drop on recall charges, but far exceeded analyst expectations, with earnings of 29 cents a share and revenue of $37.4 billion.

Aetna Inc. (AET) rose 5.3% after its results, and 3M (MMM), slipped 1.5% after missing expectations on revenue.

Shares of Zimmer Holdings Inc. (ZMH) jumped 15% on news it will buy Biomet in a deal valued at $13.35 billion.

On the downside, shares of Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)fell 4.2% after the wireless-technology firm reported an earnings view that beat forecasts, but missed on sales.

Overseas, Wall Street's pullback drove some losses across Asia, with the Nikkei 225 index off nearly 1%. In Europe most benchmarks fell after the Russia military drills news.

In other markets, crude-oil prices (CLM4) rose, while gold (GCM4) also gained and the ICE dollar index (DXY), a gauge of its strength against six rivals, slipped.

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