Key Takeaways

• U.S. equities were mixed at midday after both the Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs yesterday.

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise was upgraded by Barclays on its strength in AI.

• General Motors and Ford Motor were downgraded by Morgan Stanley on Chinese compeition.

U.S. equities were mostly lower at midday Wednesday, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed at fresh record highs. The Dow and the S&P 500 were down, and the Nasdaq was little changed.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares jumped following an upgrade and price target increase from Barclays on the information technology firm's reach into the artificial intelligence (AI) market.

An AI play lifted shares of Salesforce (CRM), which bought startup data management provider Zoomin for $450 million.

Cintas (CTAS) shares climbed after the uniform and other business supplies provider posted better-than-expected results and raised its guidance as its gross margin improved.

General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor (F) shares fell following downgrades from Morgan Stanley, which pointed to competition from Chinese automakers.

Shares of Global Payments (GPN) declined when the financial technology firm told investors it was updating its "strategic focus" as it gave guidance for the next three fiscal years.

Visa (V) shares declined for a second day on word the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the payment processor.

Oil futures dipped. Gold prices reached another all-time high. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note gained. The U.S. dollar was up on the euro, pound, and yen. Most major cryptocurrencies moved lower. 

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