NEW YORK, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, as investors navigated a mixed bag of early earnings reports while anticipating key releases from Netflix, Tesla and others later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 96.36 points, or 0.25 percent, to 37,905.45. The S&P 500 added 14.17 points, or 0.29 percent, hitting a new closing high to 4,864.6. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 65.66 points, or 0.43 percent, to 15,425.94.

Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with consumer staples and communication services leading the gainers by adding 1.08 percent and 1.00 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, real estate and consumer discretionary led the laggards by dropping 0.51 percent and 0.14 percent, respectively.

Despite exceeding profit expectations for fourth-quarter 2023 and reporting increased revenue across seat classes, United Airlines shares jumped only 5.3 percent due to concerns about potential losses in the coming quarter. The grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes cast a shadow over the airline's near-term outlook, although strong financials offered hope for the longer term.

3M's earnings forecast cast a dark cloud over Wall Street, sending its stock spiraling down by 11 percent. J&J, however, managed to avoid the storm, dipping slightly after weathering its quarterly report. D.R. Horton stumbled on shaky profits, with its shares falling almost 10 percent.

Meanwhile, Verizon and Procter & Gamble basked in the sunshine of strong results, with Verizon soaring 5.7 percent and P&G climbing 4.5 percent, respectively.

Investors nervously awaited Netflix and Tesla's performances. Netflix, the streaming giant, kicked things off Tuesday after the market closed, aiming to hit analyst estimates of 2.23 U.S. dollars per share on 8.71 billion dollars in revenue. Tesla will follow suit Wednesday, facing expectations of 0.74 dollars adjusted EPS on 25.76 billion dollars in revenue. Investors in both companies will be listening closely for guidance on 2024 and any updates on CEO contracts, with potential for significant market movement based on the news.

"It's a crescendo of reports tomorrow and Thursday, and then next week will be even busier," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. "We've got a lot of things to contemplate over the course of this week and next that will likely end up being a market positive."