By Victor Reklaitis and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Coca-Cola climbs after quarterly results
U.S. stocks edged lower Wednesday, as analysts said the market
is catching its breath.
Investors zoomed in on quarterly figures from three Dow
components, including adjusted profit from McDonald's Corp. and
Coca-Cola that beat forecasts, as well as a better-than-anticipated
reading on the housing market
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/march-existing-home-sales-rise-61-to-519-million-rate-2015-04-22).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was last down 34 points,
or 0.2%, to 17,915, while the S&P 500 (SPX) dipped by 3 points,
or 0.2%, to 2,094. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) lost 13
points, or 0.3%, to 5,001.
Investors are looking to corporate earnings as a guide to the
health of the U.S. economy amid one of the busiest weeks for
quarterly results. Ahead of the bell, Dow components McDonald's
(MCD), Coca-Cola (KO) and Boeing (BA) all posted
better-than-expected earnings.
What analysts are saying: A number of analysts used the word
"consolidation" to describe the session's action.
"The somewhat subdued price action could reflect a calm before
the storm," said Katie Stockton, BTIG's chief technical strategist,
in a note. "Generally speaking, pullbacks and consolidation phases
should be viewed as healthy developments because they prevent
uptrends from getting too steep, as long as support levels remain
intact."
"The S&P 500 has been touching this bearish trend line
around 2,110...so the market is just waiting to see how the rest of
the U.S. earnings will be like before deciding to push higher,"
said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com.
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said
in a note that "the major advances of the last six months have left
major indices fully valued and exhausted for now and in
consolidation/digestion mode."
More big names will report after the close of trading, including
Facebook Inc. (FB) and eBay Inc. (EBAY). On Tuesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-futures-climb-ahead-of-trio-of-dow-earnings-2015-04-21),
the S&P 500 and Dow fell 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively, but the
Nasdaq closed up 0.4%.
Individual movers: McDonald's gained after its adjusted
quarterly profit topped expectations
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-reports-steeper-profit-fall-2015-04-22),
and as the fast-food giant embarks on a turnaround.
Coca-Cola posted better-than-expected profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cokes-results-top-expectations-2015-04-22-74854226)
and revenue in the first quarter, helping send its shares up.
Boeing'sfirst-quarter earnings also beat forecasts
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-profit-beats-estimates-sales-fall-short-2015-04-22),
with results boosted by strong commercial-jet demand, but shares
dipped.
Angie's List (ANGI) shares soared after the company, which
operates a website that allows users to review local businesses,
said it swung to a profit in the first quarter
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/angies-lists-stock-jumps-after-company-swings-to-surprise-profit-2015-04-22).
After the closing bell, Facebook(FB) is expected to report
first-quarter earnings
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-expect-from-facebooks-earnings-2015-04-21)
of 41 cents a share, and eBay(EBAY) is expected to say
first-quarter earnings were 70 cents a share.
Read more about Wednesday's jumpiest stocks in the Movers &
Shakers column
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-mcdonalds-coca-cola-in-focus-wednesday-2015-04-22)
Other markets: Japan's Nikkei stock index closed above 20,000
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) for the first
time in 15 years, and Hong Kong-listed stocks finished higher.
European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid),
meanwhile, were pulling back.
Oil (CLM5) lost ground, but remained above $56 a barrel. Gold
futures (GCK5) fell, while the ICE dollar index (DXY) was roughly
flat.
Sara Sjolin in London contributed to this article.
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