After turbulent week, Wall Street faces more earnings tests

Wall Street's main indexes were mixed over the past week amid market turmoil over corporate earnings and the outlook for profit growth.
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Analysts say the market could see more turbulence after investors pummeled key firms even after they met most Wall Street estimates, because they offered an outlook that was less optimistic than anticipated.

In the week to Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a gain of 0.07 percent to 12,565.53 after notching a fresh all-time closing high on Tuesday of 12,582.59.

The broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 eked out an increase of just 0.02 percent at 1,430.50.
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But the tech-heavy Nasdaq took a beating with a loss of 2.05 percent to finish at 2,451.31, with the market disappointed over earnings reports from bellwethers Intel and Apple.

Apple shares were bruised despite a strong quarter with a one-billion dollar profit after the iPod maker provided guidance below most expectations. Chip giant Intel meanwhile faced a potential squeeze of profit margins despite better-than-expected earnings.

"Predictably, the modest market rally seen coming into the beginning of earnings season has stalled on a lack of exciting earnings news or guidance," said Fred Dickson, market strategist at DA Davidson.
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"Expectations are high and even confirmation of current guidance for the upcoming quarter, such as Intel, does not appear to be enough to satisfy nervous traders.

"We suspect that the churning we are seeing in the market will continue as investors appear to be seeking stronger fundamental support before launching new buy programs."

Art Hogan at Jefferies and Co. said the market faces a test as it enters the heart of the earnings season.
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"The problem is we had priced in some high expectations for technology ... Next week it will depend entirely on the guidance."

But Hogan said the market may have overreacted to the disappointments and it is possible to have a "good first quarter" for Wall Street.
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Among companies to be watched in the coming week are Ford and Pfizer, set to release earnings on Monday, and later in the week Johnson and Johnson, McDonald's, Advanced Micro Devices, Boeing, General Motors, Microsoft and Chevron.

"When companies report, we've had some profit-taking, especially on those which had good earnings," said Marc Pado, analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald.
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"It shows that traders are a bit concerned with the valuation of the market after fives months of rallies."

But Hogan said the overall backdrop for the market is positive with economic news upbeat. One key factor is oil prices, which touched 19-month lows over the past week and were testing the level of 50 dollars a barrel.

"We have very low energy prices, strong consumer confidence, low interest rates, lots of things that line up to be very positive for next week," Hogan said.

Traders will look at other US economic indicators including new and existing home sales and durable goods orders, for signs of the health of housing and manufacturing.

The recent economic data has been stronger than expected, prompting analysts to dismiss talk of a sharp slowdown or recession.
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But the strong numbers have been a double-edged sword, suggesting improving conditions but limiting prospects for a cut in
Federal Reserve interest rates.

Goldman Sachs analysts said the news flow "is likely to remain positive through mid-February at least."

"At that point, we expect the data to turn softer. A weaker labor market and relatively benign inflation data are essential ingredients of the Fed rate cuts we forecast to begin in mid-year."
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