NEW YORK, Oct 22 — Wall Street stocks edged higher early today following mixed earnings, with McDonald’s falling and Biogen surging on positive clinical results for a new Alzheimer’s treatment.

Analysts described the sentiment on US-China trade relations and Brexit as still relatively upbeat, but corporate news was at the centre of the market’s focus.

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 26,833.16, up less than 0.1 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 3,012.03, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also rose 0.2 per cent to 8,182.26.

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A deluge of earnings included results from Procter & Gamble, which jumped 3.8 per cent as it lifted full-year targets following better-than-expected earnings on strong sales of premium products and higher overall pricing.

But fellow Dow member McDonald’s slumped 3.3 per cent as its third-quarter earnings missed expectations due in part to heavy spending on technology.

Biotech company Biogen surged 36.4 per cent after it announced it will seek regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration for aducanumab, an investigational treatment for early Alzheimer’s disease.

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Patients in the most recent clinical study “experienced significant benefits on measures of cognition and function such as memory, orientation, and language,” Biogen said.

Under Armour gained 0.7 per cent as it announced that company founder Kevin Plank was stepping down as chief executive and would be replaced by president Patrik Frisk. Plank will continue to be chairman of the company.

And toymaker Hasbro plunged 14.4 per cent after reporting a 19.2 per cent drop in third-quarter profits to US$212.9 million due in part to tariff-related costs. — AFP