Two US stock indices retreated but a third was up after the White House announced on Thursday that Chrysler, the country's third-largest car maker, was seeking protection from creditors in bankruptcy court and would take a buy-in from Italy's Fiat.
The recession has eaten away more than half of Exxon Mobil's profits, the company said, dropping earnings to $4.6 billion compared to the first quarter of 2008. Revenues dropped 45 per cent to $64 billion in the first quarter.
Media conglomerate Viacom, owner of MTV, Paramount Studios and the Rock Band video-game franchise, reported a 34-per cent fall in profits due to a drop in advertising.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 17.61 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 8,168.12. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.83 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 872.81. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 5.36 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 1,717.3.
The US currency gained against the euro to 75.58 euro cents from 75.33 euro cents euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar rose against the Japanese currency to 98.65 yen from 97.71 yen on Wednesday.