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Weak earnings end stocks' winning run

NEW YORK - Weak earnings from tobacco company Lorillard and household products maker Procter & Gamble helped end the stock market's longest winning streak of the year Wednesday.

NEW YORK - Weak earnings from tobacco company Lorillard and household products maker Procter & Gamble helped end the stock market's longest winning streak of the year Wednesday.

Lorillard dropped after the maker of Newport cigarettes said its profit fell as higher costs offset an increase in revenue from both traditional and electronic cigarettes. Procter & Gamble fell after the company lowered its sales and earnings forecasts.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell half a point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,819.26. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 30.83 points, or 0.19 percent, to 15,963.94. The Nasdaq composite rose 10.24 points, or 0.24 percent, to 4,201.29.

Makers of consumer staples, a category that includes everyday products like soap, diapers, and cigarettes, fell the most of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500.

Lorillard had the biggest drop in the index. The stock lost $2.48, or 5 percent, to $47.47 after its earnings disappointed investors.

Procter & Gamble, the world's largest household products maker, fell $1.35, or 1.7 percent, to $77.49 after the company said it would take a hit because of declines in emerging-market currencies against the dollar. Currencies in developing countries such as Turkey, South Africa, and Argentina have slumped against the dollar this year.

TripAdvisor was among the day's winners. The online travel company gained $6.07, or 7.2 percent, to $90.27 after posting fourth-quarter results that led an RBC Capital Markets analyst to upgrade his rating on the stock. TripAdvisor said late Tuesday that its quarterly revenue jumped and was stronger than analysts expected. Most of its revenue came from click-based advertising.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.76 percent from 2.73 percent on Tuesday. In commodities trading, oil rose 43 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $100.37 a barrel. The price of gold rose $5.20, or 0.4 percent, to $1,295 an ounce.