U.S. Markets Focus on Earnings Improvements, Draghi Highlights Recovery Risks

Nichole Harper
07 Aug, 2014
New York City

Optimism returned to stock trading after two weeks of losses in New York. Initial claims of weekly jobless claims declined to an eight year low and better than expected earnings from 21st Century Fox and CenturyLink contributed to investor enthusiasm.

[R]12:00 PM New York – Optimism returned to stock trading after two weeks of losses in New York. Initial claims of weekly jobless claims declined to an eight year low and better than expected earnings from 21st Century Fox and CenturyLink contributed to investor enthusiasm.[/R]

Stocks in New York trading showed little vigor after two weeks of weakness. Positive earnings from several corporations and a drop in jobless claims boosted investor sentiment.

S&P 500 index declined 1.35 to 1,918.88 and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 3.47 to 4,358.55.

The S&P 500 index declined 3.2% since reaching a near-term high on July 24 and the reference index declined 2.7% in the last week. The weekly drop in the index was the largest since June 2012.

The filing of initial claims of jobless benefits last week decreased 14,000 to 289,000 from the previous week’s claims of 303,000. The weekly jobless claims dropped to an eight-year low.

U.S. Movers

Carnival Corp ((CCL)) increased 2% after Bank of America Corp lifted its outlook on the cruise operator.

CenturyLink Inc ((CTL)) increased 1% after the telecommunication carrier reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of 72 cents, ahead of 70 cents expectations set by several analysts.

Fox gained 7% after the entertainment conglomerate reported sales increase of 17% to $8.42 billion and adjusted quarterly profit soared 35% to 42 cents a share.

Keurig Green Mountain Inc ((GMCR)) decreased 1% after the coffee machine maker estimated fiscal fourth-quarter net to decline to 68 cents to 75 cents a share on 10 cents a share cut in profit on higher tax rate.

European Markets

European markets struggled after Munich Re and adidas reported quarterly results that disappointed investors.

Investors were also on defensive after ECB President Mario Draghi highlighted geopolitical risks linked to Ukraine conflict impeding economic recovery.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index slid 0.2% or 11.02 to 6,625.14 and in Frankfurt the DAX index fell 0.3% or 25.09 to 9,104.95.

In Paris, CAC 40 index dropped 0.7% or 27.92 to 4,179.22.

Adidas also lowered operating margin outlook to a range between 6.5% and 7% from the earlier estimated range between 8.5% and 9%.

Adidas has declined 37% in the year-so-far and the stock is the worst performer in the benchmark DAX Index in Germany. The stock has lost 17% since the announcement of second-quarter report on July 31.

Last week, adidas lowered its 2014 earnings outlook to 650 million euros from the previous estimate between 830 million and 930 million euros.

Nestle SA jumped 3.5% to 69.45 francs after the Switzerland-based food and beverage maker reported total sales in the first-half ending in June dropped 4.8% to 42.98 billion francs from 45.17 billion francs a year ago period.

Net profit in the period declined 9.6% from a year ago to 4.63 billion francs compared to 5.12 billion francs and earnings per share slumped to 1.45 francs from 1.60 francs.

Asian Markets

Stocks in Tokyo closed higher as investors focused on domestic earnings and more than 350 companies are scheduled to release earnings in two days.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 72.58 or 0.5% to 15,232.37 and the broader Topix index rose 6.83 to 1,258.12.

The yen closed at 102.28 against one U.S. dollar.

Investors also focused on the forthcoming announcement from the Government Pension Investment Fund and speculation rose that the $1.2 trillion fund may increase its domestic stock exposure to 20% from the current 12%.

Market indexes in Mumbai declined for the second day in a row this week after world markets continued to slide on persistent geopolitical worries in Europe and Middle East.

The Sensex Index slipped 76.26 or 0.3% to close at 25,589.01 The CNX Nifty fell 22.80 to 7,649.25.

The rupee also edged lower 0.5% to 61.45 against one U.S. dollar on higher than expected local demand for dollar and rising imports of gold and petroleum goods.