Stocks Little Changed to Start the Week
October 23 2017 - 12:47PM
Dow Jones News
By Akane Otani and Riva Gold
-- U.S. stocks trade in narrow range
-- Nikkei on record streak after Japan elections
-- European stocks mostly higher
U.S. stock indexes wobbled near the flatline Monday after
finishing at a trifecta of records last week.
A flurry of earnings reports released before the opening bell
drove swings in individual stocks while leaving major indexes
little changed.
With nearly 200 S&P 500 companies expected to report
quarterly results this week, according to FactSet, and little on
the economic calendar for much of the week, some analysts and
investors expect corporate news to drive much of the action in the
coming days.
"Listening to companies on their earnings calls, I think the
general trend is still looking pretty positive," said Jeremy Bryan,
a portfolio manager at Gradient Investments. While some sectors
like the insurance industry have reported weaker results, partially
because of damage from hurricanes earlier this year, "we're looking
through the one-time hits and still expecting robust growth into
2018," Mr. Bryan said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 points, or less than
0.1%, to 23341. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq
Composite lost 0.2%. All three indexes closed at fresh highs
Friday.
Hasbro shares shed 9.2% after the toy maker posted sales and
profit that beat analysts' expectations, but gave a downbeat
projection for sales in the key holiday period.
Shares of State Street, which beat earnings estimates but posted
foreign-exchange trading results that disappointed some analysts,
fell 2.9%.
General Electric slid 5.6%, on track for its biggest one-day
percentage decline since 2011, after several analysts cut their
price targets for the stock following the company's latest earnings
report.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% as gains in technology
companies offset declines in the banking sector.
Investors this week will be watching closely for the European
Central Bank's plans to announce the fate of its giant bond-buying
program at its meeting on Thursday.
This "may be a potential turning point in the timeline for
withdrawing accommodation," said Holly MacDonald, chief investment
strategist at Bessemer Trust, noting the European Central Bank is
facing constraints on continuing its program of quantitative
easing.
Still, with the decision well-telegraphed to markets and no
interest rate rise on the horizon for some time, the ECB's October
meeting is unlikely to ruffle bond markets much, she said.
U.S. government bonds strengthened Monday, with the yield on the
benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note falling to 2.366%, according
to Tradeweb, from 2.381% on Friday. Yields fall as bond prices
rise.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.1%, rounding out
its longest-ever winning streak with a 15th session of consecutive
gains, after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a national
election by a landslide.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index reversed its opening gains to trade
down 0.6% as investors turned cautious on Chinese banks ahead of
their earnings releases this week and declines in property stocks
weighed on the index.
Ese Erheriene contributed to this article
Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com and Riva Gold at
riva.gold@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 23, 2017 12:32 ET (16:32 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.