On The Fly: Top stock stories for Wednesday

Stocks opened in relatively quiet fashion and moved in a fairly narrow range for most of the day while analysts and investors pored over the latest round of earnings reports. Also in the forefront was the revelation of the Trump administration's new tax plan. The averages lost ground into the close following the unveiling of the high-level details of the tax plan, finishing with modest losses and snapped their win streak after two days of massive gains. ECONOMIC NEWS: In the U.S., crude inventories showed a 3.64M barrel decline, versus the consensus call for a 1.75M draw. WTI crude oil prices have risen following the report and are up 0.5% to just below $50 per barrel near midday. In White House news, President Donald Trump's administration proposed a major overhaul of the nation's tax code, mainly calling for lower rates for individuals and businesses while also cutting key tax breaks. Under the proposed plan, the details of which have yet to be fully known, the number of individual income brackets will be reduced from seven to three: 10%, 25%, and 35%. The current highest rate is 39.6%. The plan would also include doubling the standard deduction as well as repealing the 3.8% Obamacare tax, the alternative minimum tax, and the estate tax, referred to as the "death tax." In addition, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council director Gary Cohn noted that state and local tax deductions would be eliminated. In a press briefing on the matter, Mnuchin said that the tax plan will "pay for itself" and that the administration is determined to pass the proposals this year. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Twitter (TWTR) jumped nearly 8% after the microblog service operator posted better-than-expected first quarter results and said it added 9M monthly active users in the last three months, shattering estimates... Conversely, PepsiCo's (PEP) stock fell 0.7% despite announcing stronger than expected earnings for the quarter as the company benefited from demand for its healthier drinks and snacks... Meanwhile shares of AT&T (T) gained 1.3% after the company's earnings met expectations, though revenue fell slightly short... While shares of Boeing (BA) and Procter & Gamble (PG) slipped about 1% and 2.5%, respectively, following earnings, United Technologies' (UTX) stock rose 1.2% after the building systems and aerospace company's profits jumped. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), which gained 2.4% after it reported better than expected results for the quarter. The company also noted that it recently detected unauthorized activity on its payment network. Also higher was Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), which rose 10.5% after the company said its quarterly earnings rose by more than a third due to an improved performance in Europe and by its luxury Maserati brand. Among the notable losers was Seagate (STX), which dropped nearly 17% after its miss on quarterly sales. Also lower was U.S. Steel (X), which fell 26.8% following weaker than expected quarterly results. Additionally, Cree (CREE) declined 11% after the company reported third quarter earnings and sales that missed expectations. INDEXES: The Dow fell 21.03, or 0.1%, to 20,975.09, the Nasdaq dipped 0.27 to 6,025.23, and the S&P 500 declined 1.16, or 0.05%, to 2,387.45.