Stocks closed out mixed on Wednesday. The Dow shed some points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq added gains. Intel, Kraft Foods and Merck led the Dow’s descent. Moves were mixed amid the release of a variety of economic data. Consumer prices held steady in July. The Labor Department said the consumer price index was unchanged last month. However, the core CPI retreated just slightly. Meanwhile, industrial production increased 0.6% in July, following a downwardly revised 0.1% jump in June. In earnings action, Target Corp. said its second-quarter profit hit $704 million, or $1.06 a share, from $704 million, or $1.03, a year ago. Cisco posted better-than-expected quarterly data after the closing bell. The network titan reported sales of $11.7 billion or 47 cents a share. The results exceeded estimates of $11.6 billion and 46 cents a share.
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