Sellers came in to close the week on a weak note. Disappointment over quarterly earnings announcements and no progress in Europe led to a down day today. The S&P 500 was off 1.66% and the Dow closed 1.52% lower.
Earnings announcements from some technology and industrial leaders were not received favorably. Some companies were sold off on earnings disappointments, others were sold on weak forward guidance.
Technology was particularly weak today. Poor earnings announcements form Microsoft, Advanced Micro and Marvel had the sector under pressure from the open. SanDisk bucked the trend and traded up on their earnings announcement. They have heavy exposure to flash, an area of strength in the tech sector.
GE reported earnings that were slightly under expectations. They did guide to double digit earnings growth for the full year and left estimates for next year intact. Caterpillar was off after reporting a deceleration in retail sales.
McDonald’s was off in response to earnings that came in below expectations. Sales were in line with estimates but margins came in lower than expected on higher commodity costs. Former high flyer Chipotle was down 15% after missing on both the top and bottom line. Other restaurant stocks also fell sharply in response to the news.
Roughly 120 companies in the S&P 500 have reported quarterly earnings. Results for the third quarter are off 4.0% versus the same quarter last year. 63% of those that have reported have beat earnings expectations and 38% have posted revenues above consensus estimates.
The S&P 500 was up 0.32% for the week and the Dow was up 0.11%.
Source: PFS Group
