U.S. Stocks Waver as Busy Earnings Week Kicks Off --- Update
April 22 2019 - 5:21PM
Dow Jones News
By Akane Otani
The S&P 500 eked out a small gain Monday, extending a
listless streak of trading at the start of a busy week for
corporate earnings.
Stock trading has been relatively quiet in recent weeks as
investors have tried to discern whether data are pointing to a
rebound in economic momentum after a soft start to the year, or
further weakening. Earnings released this week will help investors
get a sense of how well profits at U.S. companies held up at the
start of the year.
"A lot of really good news is already reflected in [stock]
prices, and that's why we're struggling to move materially higher,"
said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street
Global Advisors.
Mr. Arone added that as the weeks go on, he will be closely
watching corporate executives have to say about the outlook for
coming quarters.
The S&P 500 added 2.94 points, or 0.1%, to 2907.97, posting
its 14th advance in 17 trading days. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average fell 48.49 points, or 0.2%, to 26511.05 and the Nasdaq
Composite rose 17.20 points, or 0.2%, to 8015.27.
Shares of energy companies jumped with oil prices after the
White House said it was halting waivers for countries that import
Iranian oil.
Marathon Oil, Devon Energy and Diamondback Energy rose more than
3% apiece. U.S. crude for May delivery added $1.70, or 2.7%, to
$65.70 a barrel, notching its biggest one-day percentage gain since
February and settling at its highest level since October.
The moves extend a strong streak for energy shares, which have
rallied this year as major exporters around the world have extended
efforts to curb output.
Corporate earnings also drove swings across the stock
market.
Kimberly-Clark, maker of consumer goods ranging from Kleenex
tissues to Scott toilet paper, rose $6.70, or 5.4%, to $130.25
after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the
first quarter.
Industrial supply company W.W. Grainger fell $16.97, or 5.5%, to
$291.21 after reporting worse-than-expected sales results.
Mattel shares shed 72 cents, or 5.8%, to $11.77, extending a
slide that began earlier in the month after safety issues prompted
the toy maker's Fischer-Price unit to pull Rock 'n Play sleepers
off the market. The company is to report quarterly results
Thursday.
Later this week, investors will get a fresh look at the health
of the U.S. economy, with data on jobless claims and estimates for
first-quarter gross domestic product scheduled for release.
Technology multinationals such as Microsoft, Facebook and
Amazon.com are also reporting earnings, offering investors a sense
of whether this year's rally in shares of rapidly growing companies
has further room to run.
Signs that the U.S. economy has continued to be a relative
bright spot in the world have helped drive shares higher this year.
The Dow industrials have risen three of the past four weeks,
trading near their highest level since October.
Bond yields have bounced off of the lows they hit earlier in the
year, a sign that investors' outlook for growth has perked up.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at
2.592%, compared with 2.563% Thursday. Yields rise as bond prices
fall.
Elsewhere, markets in Europe remained closed for the Easter
holiday, while stock indexes across Asia ended mixed.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 0.1% Monday, edging
closer to its high for the year.
The Shanghai Composite slumped 1.7% as investors weighed fears
that officials might consider slowing their policy-easing
measures.
Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2019 17:06 ET (21:06 GMT)
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