Stocks Finish Mixed After Two-Day Sandy Shutdown

Ford (F) reported earnings on Tuesday that beat analysts' estimates thanks to strong U.S. sales that overshadowed weakening sales in Europe and soft profits in South America. Shares climbed 8.2%.

The FTSE 100 in London closed down 1.2%, as the DAX in Germany gave away earlier gains to finish off 0.33%. Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.98% overnight to close at 8,9281. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1%.

Gold for December delivery added $7 to settle at $1,719.10 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, while December crude oil contracts increased 56 cents to close at $86.24 a barrel.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury was rising 7/32, dropping the yield to 1.696%. The dollar was unchanged Wednesday, according to the U.S. dollar index.

In other corporate news, Knight Capital (KCG), the market-making firm that lost some $440 million in an August trading glitch, shut down trading Wednesday because of an electrical outage. After dipping following the announcement, shares finished up 0.38%.

PVH (PVH) agreed to buy Warnaco (WRC) for some $2.9 billion, which would bring brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Speedo under one company.

Shares of PVH soared 20.2% on Wednesday. Warnaco shares rose 38.7% to $70.58.

MasterCard (MA) posted a $772 million third-quarter profit, or $6.17a share, up 7.8% from $716 million a year earlier. Revenue increased to $1.92 billion. A consensus of analysts expected $5.92 a share on $1.94 billion revenue.

Shares of the credit card company added 1.8%.

Visa (V) also reported quarterly net income of $1.7 billion at $2.47 a share. Shares of the credit card company were rising 1.6% in after hours trades. Shares closed in the regular session up 0.33%.

Allstate (ALL), the largest American auto and home insurer traded publicly, reported that net income rose $723 million up from $175 million a year earlier. Operating income was $1.46 a share, which beat a Bloomberg survey of economists who expected $1.13. Shares of the company were up 1.8% in after hours trades, but had settled down 0.42% during intraday trading on Wednesday.

Apple (AAPL) was having a rough day as shares slumped a day after the company announced that Scott Forstall, head of iOS, the mobile operating system, would be leaving the company. Apple's head of retail, John Browett, will also be leaving the company.

Shares lost 1.4%.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn reported Wednesday that he held nearly a 10% stake in video streaming company Netflix (NFLX). Shares of the company soared 13.9% on the news.

-- Written by Joe Deaux in New York.

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