By Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stock indexes were mixed in early trade Thursday amid a
batch of corporate earnings and upbeat labor-market data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24 points, or 0.1%, to
17215.
The S&P 500 declined five points, or 0.2%, to 1998, and the
Nasdaq Composite fell 22 points, or 0.5%, to 4616.
Energy stocks fell the most on the S&P 500, down 0.8%. Exxon
Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. were among the biggest decliners on
the Dow.
Corporate earnings were mixed. Coach Inc.'s quarterly earnings
declined less than expected. Shares rose 8.4%.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said revenue rose 40% in its December
quarter, falling short of expectations. Shares dropped 10%.
A slide in oil prices since last summer, the strong dollar and
weak economic activity overseas helped dimmed the outlook for
fourth-quarter earnings. Going into the reporting season, analysts
polled by FactSet had expected earnings on the S&P 500 to rise
1.1% from a year earlier, the slowest pace of growth since the
third quarter of 2012. Including results at 176 companies on the
S&P 500, earnings are on track to rise 1.7% from a year ago.
But without Apple Inc.'s results, S&P 500 earnings would be on
pace to contract.
"The question is how the stronger dollar impacts" earnings, said
Monica DiCenso, U.S. head of equity strategy at J.P. Morgan Private
Bank. "It certainly doesn't derail our view that you're going to
see another solid year of corporate earnings, and another year of
solid equity returns," she added.
In other corporate news, Ford Motor Co.'s pretax profits
exceeded expectations and the company forecast stronger results for
2015. Still, shares fell 1%.
McDonald's Corp. said its chief executive, Don Thompson, was
leaving less than three years into his tenure but gave no reason
for his departure. Steve Easterbrook, currently chief global brand
officer, will succeed Mr. Thompson on March 1. Shares gained
3.3%.
"There does seem to be a skittishness in the market right now
and an unwillingness to tolerate misses," said Ms. DiCenso,
referring to worse-than-expected earnings reports. In some cases,
if the long-term outlooks at those companies haven't changed, it
could be a good opportunity to buy, she added.
In economic news, the Labor Department said jobless claims fell
by 43,000 to 265,000 in the week ended Jan. 24, hitting the lowest
level since April 2000. Economists polled by The Wall Street
Journal had expected 300,000 new claims.
Later, pending home sales are expected to rise 0.6% in December,
according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.
In other markets, crude-oil futures rose 0.5% to $44.64 a
barrel, rebounding from a prior-day selloff. Gold futures fell 1.2%
to $1270.60 an ounce.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.747% from
1.723% on Wednesday. Bond yields rise as prices fall.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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