Skip navigation
Stocks Video Gallery
The cost of higher education keeps going higher. Insight on the increase, with James Altucher, Formula Capital managing ...
A sneak peak of the five countries that could offer significant value for the adventurous investor, witrh Jim Brooks, Co...
Mad Money host Jim Cramer gives his take on the market.
A new coalition aims at getting 75 percent of vehicle miles powered by electricity in 30 years, with Sefi Ghasemi, Rockw...
A look at GM's payback plan, with CNBC's Phil LeBeau and Ally Bank's strategy with Ed Yingling, The American Bankers Ass...


Current DateTime: 12:47:02 16 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33482595

Current DateTime: 12:47:02 16 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 12:47:02 16 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611
  • How Much Do You Know About Green?

      Green has become part of our everyday lives. Green is everywhere-- energy, clothing, food, housing, transportation. It's a big business and a global business.

  • The Billionaire BFF's

      Philanthropists. Bridge partners. Hockey players. Which responses are based on facts from Buffett's and Gates' real lives?

  • The Many Myths of Coca-Cola

      Can you tell which statements are true, and which ones are just rumors?


Current DateTime: 12:47:02 16 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

  • Alternative Investing

      Stocks and bonds? Sure. But it's a big world out there for investors.

powered by digg
By: CNBC.com | 17 Apr 2008 | 12:09 PM ET
Text Size

Stocks wobbled Thursday as investors digested a mixed bag of earnings and economic news.

Major U.S. Indexes
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's report on regional manufacturing activity showed a fifth straight month of contraction. The Fed branch's business-activity index shrank to minus 24.9 in April from minus 17.4 in March. Economists had expected a reading of minus 15.

The Philadelphia report is widely seen as a precursor to the ISM's national reading on manufacturing, due out on May 1.

The Conference Board's gauge of leading indicators ticked up 0.1 percent in March, snapping a five-month losing streak. Economists had expected an unchanged reading after a 0.3 percent decline in February.

The number of people applying for initial unemployment benefits rose by 17,000 last week, less than the 20,000 expected. The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, fell by 750 claims to 376,000.

The latest batch of earnings included a miss from Merrill Lynch and an increased forecast from IBM.

"Every day is a different day when you're looking at earnings," Peter Costa, of Eckhart & Co., told CNBC. "You've got to look at the much-bigger picture ... the dollar still stinks, oil's at $114 a barrel." Earnings season will be tough but "We'll get through it," Costa said. "We've got to get through ... the next week and a half and then we'll see where the market goes from there."

Costa said the Dow may have been down 150 to 170 points today, but IBM's results will likely provide some support.

Merrill Lynch [MER  Loading...      ()   ] reported a loss -- including preferred stock dividends -- of $2.14 billion, or $2.19 a share, compared with a profit of more than $2 billion a year earlier. The loss from continuing operations was $2.20 per share, more than the $1.96 analysts had expected, according to Reuters Estimates.

Merrill also took writedowns totaling $4.5 billion for the quarter and said it plans to cut 4,000 jobs. Sources tell CNBC that the investment bank may need to raise additional capital, despite contrary remarks last week from CEO John Thain.

(Check out all the latest earnings news and earnings surprises.)

JP Morgan Chase [JPM  Loading...      ()   ], which reported better than expected results on Wednesday, is planning to sell $6 billion in non-cumulative perpetual preferred shares, according to a report in International Financing Review, a Thomson publication.

IBM [IBM  Loading...      ()   ] , the biggest gainer on the Dow, reported after the closing bell Wednesday that net income rose 26 percent to $2.32 billion. Total revenue, of which two-thirds comes from outside the U.S., increased 11 percent. Shares jumped in after-hours trading as two key metrics met expectations: hardware and services sales. Analysts had been concerned that, since a quarter of services revenue comes from financial firms, it might fall short, but it didn't.

Big Blue also raised its outlook again. In a statement accompanying the earnings report, CEO Sam Palmisano said, "We feel good about the rest of the year."

Online auctioneer eBay [EBAY  Loading...      ()   ] also beat expectations, with a 22 percent increase in net income. The company, which is in the midst of an overhaul to promote long-term growth, also boosted it its 2008 revenue forecast by 2 to 3 percent, pegging revenue between $8.7 and $9 billion. However, the stock skidded Thursday as traders focused on fact that eBay's core business remains weak.

Earnings from the world's biggest handset maker, Nokia [NOK  Loading...      ()   ], were in line but shares fell when the company lowered its outlook.

Diversified manufacturer United Technologies [UTX  Loading...      ()   ] reported an earnings gain of 22 percent, beating expectations, but shares declined after the company, which makes everything from Otis elevators to Black Hawk military helicopters, held its full-year outlook steady and warned of a slowdown.

Pfizer [PFE  Loading...      ()   ] , the Dow's biggest decliner, also fell short of its earnings  target as competition from generic medications hit its prescription drug business, particularly that of its cholesterol buster, Lipitor.

Swiss drug maker Roche missed forecasts with an increase of just 2 percent in first-quarter sales in local currencies, hit by plunging Tamiflu revenue and a slowing pace of growth for cancer drugs.

This Week:

THURSDAY: Fed's Kohn, Fisher speak; Capital One, Google earnings after the bell
FRIDAY: Caterpillar, Citigroup, Honeywell, Xerox earnings; Fed's Lacker, Rosengren speak

Send comments to .

© 2009 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • CNBC's Jim Goldman asks: Has the sun begun to set on Twitter? Data suggests its best days are over.
  • High unemployment is likely to persist for a while—you might need to change how you look for work.
  • De Loach Vineyards is selling its pinot noir the old fashioned way, helping to cut energy and transportation costs.
  • Why are the Chinese concerned about the progress of U.S. health care legislation?
  • Snoop Dogg
  • CNBC's Maria Bartiromo talks to rapper Snoop Dogg about brand identity in both business and music.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 10:28:53 16 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 10:28:53 16 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 11:11:31 16 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 10:42:55 16 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters