Wall Street Shifts Focus to Earnings; GE and Schlumberger Beat Estimates

Nichole Harper
19 Jul, 2013
New York City

Earnings were in focus on Wall Street. General Electric traded at a 5-year high after earnings were ahead of expectations. Microsoft plunged after it missed revenues and earnings expectations. Intuitive Surgical plummeted 12% after company lowered outlook.

[R]2:25 PM New York – Earnings were in focus on Wall Street. General Electric traded at a 5-year high after earnings were ahead of expectations. Microsoft plunged after it missed revenues and earnings expectations. Intuitive Surgical plummeted 12% after company lowered outlook.[/R]

Stocks on Wall Street traded sideways and market of stocks focused on a barrage of earnings.

General Electric reported better than expected lowered earnings estimates on higher demand for jet engines and drilling equipment. Schlumberger also reported better than expected earnings as exploration activities in shale gas exploration drove demand.

However, tech stocks were under pressure after Microsoft and Google missed elevated earnings expectations. Intel traded lower after Advanced Micro Devices reported weaker than expected quarterly results.

The S&P 500 index increased 0.08% to 1,690 and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.7% to 3,585.99.

The dollar traded higher and fetched $1.31 against one euro and gold jumped 1% to 1,250.30 an ounce.

European Markets

European markets traded weak and market indexes closed lower after tech stocks in the region declined.

In London, FTSE 100 index declined 0.06%, in Frankfurt the DAX index fell 0.07% and in Paris the CAC 40 index decreased 0.06%.

Asian Markets

Markets in Asia traded mixed and indexes in Mumbai rose to a high for the year after earnings from software services providers in Tata Consultancy were ahead of expectations.

Reliance Industries, the largest independent oil refiner in Asia reported higher than expected earnings on the weakness in the rupee. The industrial conglomerate also said its retail chain segment has turned profitable for the second quarter in a row after the chain was launched in 2006.

The Nikkei index in Tokyo declined and the yen weakened and investors looked ahead at results of Sunday election scheduled for the upper house. Investors have already factored in a super majority win for the ruling coalition controlled by the LDP.

In Shanghai indexes plunged more than 2.4% and in Hong Kong stocks barely gained after Chinese government removed the floor on interest rate as the economy contracts and the government looks to curb lending.

U.S. Stocks in Review

Intel ((INTC)) extended losses for the third day and eBay ((EBAY)) declined after it estimated earnings that were below expectations.

Microsoft ((MSFT)) dropped 11% after the software developer reported fiscal fourth quarter below expectations on weaker demand for personal computers operating windows.

Google Inc ((GOOG)) declined more than 1% after mobile ads lowered total ad margins and the stock plunged as much as 4% in the early trading.

General Electric ((GE)) gained 4% to a five-year high adjusted profit declined less than expected and demand for jet engines and drilling equipment lifted order backlog to a record high.

Intuitive Surgical Inc ((INTU)) plunged 12% after the maker of robotic surgery equipment lowered its revenues estimate and missed earnings outlook and a regulator warned that the company has not disclosed adequately about the device effectiveness and operability.