Stocks drifted lower, Tuesday, ending with losses for a second day in a row just ahead of the start of the Q4 earnings season. Most industry sectors in the S&P 500 finished in the red, with the steepest losses among technology and industrial stocks. Shares of mining and materials firms ended with small losses, propped up by mid-sized gains for gold and silver in commodities. Healthcare stocks also were little changed on the session, falling back near their break-even mark just before the close.
And They're Off!
Alcoa (AA) kicked off the Q4 earnings season just after the Market's close. The aluminum giant reported earnings of $242 million -- 21 cents a share -- on revenue of $5.9 billion, which was pretty much in line with analysts' expectations.
Bracing For Downbeat Earnings
Overall, Wall Street is bracing for a largely downbeat earnings season, reflecting a lackluster holiday period and cautious corporate spending as the federal government teetered through budget and tax negotiations. Analysts, on average, see the Q4 results topping the prior quarter but -- just like Aloca -- down significantly from their October predictions. Thomson Reuters sees quarterly growth of 2.8% while S&P Capital IQ forecasts growth of 3.3%.
Commodities are mixed. Crude oil for February delivery added 6 cents $93.21 per barrel while February natural gas fell 5 cents to $3.22 per 1 million BTU. February gold rose $15.90 to $1662.20 per ounce while March silver rose 40 cents to $30.48 per ounce. March copper settled 1 cent lower at $3.67 per pound.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At Day's End
- Dow Jones Industrial Average down 55.44 (-0.41%) to 13,328.85
- S&P 500 down 4.74 (-0.32%) to 1,457.15
- Nasdaq Composite Index down 7.00 (-0.23%) to 3,091.81
- Hang Seng Index down 0.94%
- Shanghai China Composite Index down 0.41%
- FTSE 100 Index down 0.18%
- (+) PERI, Expects Q4 revenue to reach $21 million, beating the analyst consensus by $2.9 million. Guides FY13 EPS, revenue above Street view.
- (+) STSI, Reports positive initial results in a study analyzing the effect of anatabine dietary supplements on thyroid health.
- (+) CPHD, Reports preliminary Q4 results, saying non-GAAP earnings should come in just above its prior guidance of $0.10 to $0.12 a share. Analysts have been expecting a 0.02 a share net loss for the quarter.
- (+) SIG, Reports 3.3% rise in same-store sales during the recent holiday season. It also raised the lower end of its Q4 profit forecast by $0.10 a share, now expecting net income of $2.05 to $2.10.
- (-) AIG, Reportedly considering joining a $25-billion lawsuit against the federal government filed last year by former CEO Maurice Greenberg.
- (-) AYI, Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.69 a share miss analyst expectations by $0.11 a share. Quarterly sales also trail Street view.
- (-) FIO, William Blair cuts rating to Market Perform from Outperform, citing channel checks that indicated slower-than-expected bookings.
- (-) YUM, Same-store sales in China fall 6% during Q4 -- 2 percentage points worse than forecasts.