Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Economic Journal - Tuesday, 4/22/2014



 (As of 7:20 am PST)

US stocks are inching higher extending their longest winning streak since last October as earnings results gave investors much to cheer about.  Economic data is light today with a report on existing home sales showing sales dipped slightly in March.  Investors shrugged the report with stock prices being driven higher by a slew of earnings reports from notable names.  Shares of Netflix rose 7% after posting strong results, while Harley Davidson also soared 7.5%.  Comcast rose 2.25% after reporting strong earnings while shares of McDonald’s declined 0.5% on falling profits.  Other notable names reporting today included Lockheed Martin, AT&T, Amgen and Yum Brands.  Earnings season has surprised some analysts with positive results bolstering an optimistic trade recently.  According to FactSet, so far 68% of the companies in the S&P500 have beat their earnings expectations.  It’s a longshot to call the recent uptick a rally, but momentum has certainly been to the upside.  Don’t be surprised to see some short term profit taking in the coming days.

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