Friday, July 25, 2014

Economic Journal - Friday, 7/25/2014



(As of 7:10 am PST)
Stocks opened firmly lower today as disappointing earnings results claimed the headlines.  Despite this morning’s decline, the major benchmarks are on pace for modest weekly gains.  Negative sentiment began yesterday in the after-market when Amazon announced quarterly results that missed expectations. The online retailer posted another huge sales quarter but failed to turn a profit with losses widening more than in the year ago period.  Investors beat down the stock with shares opening at $318, down 11% from the prior day close. Adding to the negative earnings day were results from Pandora and Starbucks, with shares down on a disappointing outlook. The bright spot of the day is a report on US durable goods orders.  Orders for durable goods rose 0.7% in June, well ahead of the consensus estimate.  Investors shrugged off the report to focus on earnings related news.  Next week is full of economic data with the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report rounding out a week that also includes the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.  International markets remain cautious as geopolitical tensions in Russia and Gaza persist. Expect this downward pressure to persist throughout the day.

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