- Obama says Boosting US Jobs is Top Priority
- More Consumers Giving 'Black Friday' the Cold Shoulder
- Prepare For Large Decline In Stocks, Next Year?
- Hewlett-Packard Earnings Rise, Match Guidance
- HP Comes in As Expected; Is It Time to Buy?
- Cramer: What Monday’s Housing Number Really Means
- Why the Dollar Will Likely Stay Weak for Some Time
- Bear, Lehman Execs Weren't Wiped Out by Crisis: Study
- How Real Estate Investors Skew Housing's Reality
- Can Murdoch Help Bing Challenge Google and Shift the Content Equation?
- HP's Mark Hurd
- HP Comes in As Expected; Is It Time to Buy?
- 9 Stocks That Play Rising Water Costs: Strategists
- Weis' Deal Likely Won't Change Big Money Contracts
- Gold Prices Can Double in 3 Years: Portfolio Manager
- Nov. 23: Unusual Volume Leaders
- Help Wanted—Please Run $4 Billion University
- Apple Comes to AT&T's Rescue
MOST SHARED
- The 'Real' Jobless Rate: 17.5% Of Workers Are Unemployed
- Wave of Debt Payments Facing US Government
- HP Comes in As Expected; Is It Time to Buy?
- Paul: Audit the Fed
- JAL Slides to Record Low on Bankruptcy Jitters
- Hewlett-Packard Profit Rises, Matches Guidance
- Prepare For Large Decline In Stocks, Next Year?
- The Social Media Gaming Threat
- Why Amazon Rules Retail
- Holiday Travel Outlook
Text Size 
CNBC.com
Stocks struggled Wednesday as investors took a breather after a two-day rally and braced for the start of earnings season.
Techs started to push higher after an analyst upgrade on Cisco. Banks also gained after a couple of upgrades on the sector recently as analysts say stocks valuations are too low for earnings potential.
This comes after a two-day rally, in which stocks gained 2.6 percent, as recent data points have revitalized optimism about the recovery.
But that could all change as earnings season unofficially kicks off today, with the first Dow component, Alcoa [AA
Loading...
()
], reporting after the bell.
Analysts say companies are going to have to bring it this quarter: They're looking for revenue growth, not just an improved bottom line due to cost-cutting measures. Plus, they'll also be looking at companies' outlooks for signs of the recovery.
The current expectations are for a 25-percent drop in the blended earnings of S&P 500 companies.
Costco and Family Dollar beat expectations this morning, an encouraging sign for the retail sector ahead of chain-store sales, due out tomorrow.
Analysts say a few retailers could beat tomorrow, helped by a cool September.
] was raised to "outperform" by Wells Fargo, the latest in the string of upgrades on the financial sector.And Citigroup [C
Loading...
()
] is said to be exploring a possible sale of its Phibro commodities unit.
Cisco [CSCO
Loading...
()
] led the Dow — and the Nasdaq — after a William Blair analyst upgraded his rating on the stock to "outperform" from "market perform." The analyst said Cisco is winning new deals and generally benefiting from the recovery amid pent-up demand.
Microsoft [MSFT
Loading...
()
] CEO Steve Ballmer said he doesn't expect the launch of Windows 7 to boost PC sales.
Amazon.com [AMZN
Loading...
()
] rallied after the online marketplace lowered the price of its Kindle e-reader, while expanding its marketing overseas.
Rumor has it that News Corp. [NWS
Loading...
()
] chief Rupert Murdoch is in Asia right now, scouting out potential partners for his own e-reader.
Avis Budget Group [CAR
Loading...
()
] warned that a recent warrant transaction against the car rental company could impact earnings. Avis on Tuesday offered $250 million in notes along with a warrant transaction.
In economic news, mortgage applications rose to their highest level since mid-May as interest rates continued to drop.
Following better-than-average demand for 3-year notes in an auction yesterday, the Treasury is back at it again today with a sale of $20 billion in 10-year notes. As usual, the results will be available shortly after 1 pm.
At 10 am, General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson will be presenting a business update for the automaker, highlighting the progress it's made since its emergence from bankruptcy.
The Washington Post is reporting a probe of Hospital Corp. of America [HCA
Loading...
()
] for possible securities law violations.
And Burger King Holdings [BKC
Loading...
()
]announced an extensive revamp of its 12,000 worldwide locations.
Kansas City Federal Reserve President Thomas Hoenig is also in the news, saying late Tuesday that it's too soon to withdraw the Fed's massive support even though the U.S. economy is clearly rebounding.
- The show attracts a big TV audience every year, but this year it may take on even more importance.
- …you'll want to be prepared. Tips for getting the most out of the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy.
- Congressman Ron Paul explains to Squawk Box why he’s pushing legislation to audit the Federal Reserve.
- CNBC’s Phil LeBeau took a test drive of GM’s flagship electric car. Here’s what he thought of the Volt.
- The energy company Power Efficiency is building tools that regulate the power electric motors use.
- CNBC’s technology reporter Jim Goldman guides you through the best gadgets to buy this holiday season.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes