By JONATHAN CHENG

The Dow Jones Industrial Average squeezed out a small gain on the day, as investors weighed the latest round of earnings reports against weakness in European markets.

Investors snapped up telecommunications and utilities shares, while Disney net income weakened in the latest quarter. Chris Dieterich has details on The News Hub. Photo: AP.

The blue-chip Dow edged up 7.22 points, or 0.05%, to 13986.52 on Wednesday, after sliding as many as 66 points in the opening minutes of trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index inched up 0.83 points, or 0.05%, to 1512.12, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 3.10 points, or 0.10%, to 3168.48.

In a recent report, investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co. published a list of the stocks with the greatest upside potential. MarketWatch's Laura Mandaro discusses what stocks made it on the list. (Photo: AP)

Telecommunications and utilities stocks—which are less exposed to economic swings—led the day's gains, while the technology and health-care sectors pulled back.

3M (MMM) topped the Dow gainers while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also gained.

Dow component Walt Disney (DIS) advanced after the entertainment giant reported fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analyst estimates, helped by growth in its media networks business.

"At a company level, a lot of the commentary from management is saying that they see signs of improvement," said Owen Fitzpatrick, portfolio manager and head of U.S. large-cap growth equity for DWS Investments, a unit of Deutsche Bank (DBK.XE) .

Mr. Fitzpatrick said he was encouraged by the market's resilience lately. Volatility has fallen and investors have shown more interest in stocks, particularly riskier bets on small-capitalization stocks and cyclically-oriented sectors like energy and financial companies.

European markets erased earlier gains to trade broadly lower as lingering worries over political stability in Spain and Italy weighed off against better-than-expected German data. The Stoxx Europe 600 finished with a loss of 0.4%, well off its lows for the day. The German and French stock indexes, however, both closed at their lowest levels of the year.

Asian markets were mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 3.8% to the highest level since September 2008, and the yen fell against the dollar to briefly touch a near three-year low, after Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa offered to step down three weeks before the expiration of his term. Many investors believe that paves the way for accelerated and more aggressive stimulus measures. The yen later pared those losses to edge up on the greenback.

Elsewhere, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.1%, to notch its eighth straight gain.

There was no major U.S. economic data scheduled for release.

Crude-oil futures reversed morning declines to edge up under 0.1% to $96.62 a barrel, while gold futures inched up 0.3% to $1,677.70 an ounce. The dollar rose against the euro, while demand for Treasurys rose, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down to 1.967%.

In other corporate news, Time Warner (TWX) climbed after the media giant exceeded fourth-quarter earnings forecasts, raised its quarterly dividend by 11% and authorized a new $4 billion stock-buyback program.

Ralph Lauren (RL) was among the strongest stocks on the S&P 500, jumping after reporting quarterly earnings that surged 28% amid an improvement in retail sales and widening margins.

C.H. Robinson (CHRW) Worldwide was the worst performer on the S&P 500, tumbling after the transportation and logistics company's quarterly earnings missed estimates and operating margin declined.

Zynga (ZNGA) surged after the social-games maker topped earnings and revenue expectations, although the outlook for the current quarter was weaker than projections.

Aflac (AFL) declined after the insurer reported quarterly revenue that fell shy of forecasts.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) climbed after the restaurant chain operator's quarterly earnings were buoyed by improved revenue.

Biogen Idec (BIIB) advanced after the company agreed to buy Ireland-based Elan (ELN)'s interest in the multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri for $3.25 billion in cash and future contingent payments. Elan's U.S.-listed shares fell 10%.

Shutterfly (SFLY) shot up after the digital-photo services company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue, and provided an upbeat 2013 revenue outlook.

Expedia (EXPE) fell after warning of heightening competition and posting a relatively modest increase in earnings this year.

Hain Celestial Group (HAIN) declined after the organic-products company missed revenue expectations.

Exchange operator CME Group (CME) dropped as its latest earnings report showed continued weakness in stock trading volume.

Write to Jonathan Cheng at jonathan.cheng@wsj.com