Mixed earnings hold back U.S. stocks

NEW YORK (AP) - The Standard & Poor's 500 index logged a small gain Tuesday on a mixed day for the stock market.

Health-care giant Johnson & Johnson slipped after it warned that pressure to keep prices low would likely mean slightly lower profits than forecast. Delta Air Lines gained after reporting a better-than-expected profit in the fourth quarter as fares and traffic rose.

Company earnings were the main focus for investors Tuesday as there were no major economic releases. So far, the stock market has failed to get a big lift from earnings reports and investors appear to be assessing the results more critically than they did a year ago.