Stocks Weaken at Late Morning Amid Disappointing Earnings
A Wall Street Journal Online News Roundup
Wall Street applauded plans for money-saving job cuts at Eastman Kodak, but the broader market was weak Thursday as investors sifted through a barrage of earnings numbers.
Weak results from Ford Motor and AT&T weighed on the market, and by late morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 14 points at 10609. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 19.10 to 2123.35 and the S&P 500-stock index was down 1.82 at 1145.80.
Kodak announced plans to cut its work force by as much as 21% by the end of 2006 and take charges of $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion, a blueprint the company regards as necessary for its transition to filmless digital imaging. The plan will eliminate 12,000 to 15,000 jobs and result in annual operating-cost savings of $800 million to $1 billion by 2007, the company estimated. Its shares jumped 11%.
Declining profits at some major companies cast a shadow over the market. Ford posted a sharply larger loss, taking a big charge as it moves to shore up its former parts unit and pull its trouble-prone European operations out of a ditch. Its shares lost 1%.
AT&T, meanwhile, posted a 34% decline in profit, as competition in the telecom market heated up. Shares declined 2.5%. And Pfizer's fourth-quarter profit fell 79%, despite a 52% jump in revenue, amid hefty costs related to the April merger with Pharmacia and expenses related to outstanding legal matters. Still, its shares rose 1.6%.
Among earnings on tap for later today, Microsoft is set to report after the closing bell. The software giant, whose Windows and Office products dominate personal computers, is facing slowing growth. But revived consumer and corporate spending is expected to help Microsoft's results and outlook.
Meanwhile, a stronger-than-expected reading on the labor market may provide some support for stocks. The number of U.S. workers filing initial applications for unemployment benefits declined for a second week in a row last week, suggesting the jobs market is slowly recovering.
Separately, the Conference Board's key leading indicators index, which is used to forecast economic activity in the coming six months, rose 0.2% last month, as expected. Analysts said the strength partly reflected the recent rise in stock prices and the gradual decline in the volume of initial jobless claims.
"All indicators point to continued economic growth," Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said in a press release. "More job gains than in November and December are in store for the early months of 2004," along with continued robust consumer spending and an uptick in business investment, he said.
On the foreign-exchange markets, the dollar continued to slide on the growing belief that European officials won't move to intervene unless the euro rises above $1.30.
In overseas trading, European stocks were mixed, and trading remained subdued in Asia, with markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea markets closed through Friday for the New Year's holiday.
In major U.S. market action:
Stocks were weak. On the Big Board, where 582.5 million shares traded, 1,622 stocks rose and 1,466 fell. On the Nasdaq, where 823.6 million shares changed hands, 1,805 declined and 1,132 advanced.
Bonds advanced. The 10-year Treasury note rose about 1/8 point, or $1.25 for each $1,000 invested. The yield, which moves inversely to price, slipped to 4.01%. The long bond was up 3/8 point to yield 4.88%.
The dollar was weaker. It traded at 106.37 yen, down from 106.96 late Wednesday in New York. The euro rose against the dollar to $1.2692 from $1.2631 in the previous session.
--For continuously updated news from The Wall Street Journal, see WSJ.com at .
Dow Jones Newswires
01-22-041124ET
Copyright (C) 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A Wall Street Journal Online News Roundup
Wall Street applauded plans for money-saving job cuts at Eastman Kodak, but the broader market was weak Thursday as investors sifted through a barrage of earnings numbers.
Weak results from Ford Motor and AT&T weighed on the market, and by late morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 14 points at 10609. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 19.10 to 2123.35 and the S&P 500-stock index was down 1.82 at 1145.80.
Kodak announced plans to cut its work force by as much as 21% by the end of 2006 and take charges of $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion, a blueprint the company regards as necessary for its transition to filmless digital imaging. The plan will eliminate 12,000 to 15,000 jobs and result in annual operating-cost savings of $800 million to $1 billion by 2007, the company estimated. Its shares jumped 11%.
Declining profits at some major companies cast a shadow over the market. Ford posted a sharply larger loss, taking a big charge as it moves to shore up its former parts unit and pull its trouble-prone European operations out of a ditch. Its shares lost 1%.
AT&T, meanwhile, posted a 34% decline in profit, as competition in the telecom market heated up. Shares declined 2.5%. And Pfizer's fourth-quarter profit fell 79%, despite a 52% jump in revenue, amid hefty costs related to the April merger with Pharmacia and expenses related to outstanding legal matters. Still, its shares rose 1.6%.
Among earnings on tap for later today, Microsoft is set to report after the closing bell. The software giant, whose Windows and Office products dominate personal computers, is facing slowing growth. But revived consumer and corporate spending is expected to help Microsoft's results and outlook.
Meanwhile, a stronger-than-expected reading on the labor market may provide some support for stocks. The number of U.S. workers filing initial applications for unemployment benefits declined for a second week in a row last week, suggesting the jobs market is slowly recovering.
Separately, the Conference Board's key leading indicators index, which is used to forecast economic activity in the coming six months, rose 0.2% last month, as expected. Analysts said the strength partly reflected the recent rise in stock prices and the gradual decline in the volume of initial jobless claims.
"All indicators point to continued economic growth," Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said in a press release. "More job gains than in November and December are in store for the early months of 2004," along with continued robust consumer spending and an uptick in business investment, he said.
On the foreign-exchange markets, the dollar continued to slide on the growing belief that European officials won't move to intervene unless the euro rises above $1.30.
In overseas trading, European stocks were mixed, and trading remained subdued in Asia, with markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea markets closed through Friday for the New Year's holiday.
In major U.S. market action:
Stocks were weak. On the Big Board, where 582.5 million shares traded, 1,622 stocks rose and 1,466 fell. On the Nasdaq, where 823.6 million shares changed hands, 1,805 declined and 1,132 advanced.
Bonds advanced. The 10-year Treasury note rose about 1/8 point, or $1.25 for each $1,000 invested. The yield, which moves inversely to price, slipped to 4.01%. The long bond was up 3/8 point to yield 4.88%.
The dollar was weaker. It traded at 106.37 yen, down from 106.96 late Wednesday in New York. The euro rose against the dollar to $1.2692 from $1.2631 in the previous session.
--For continuously updated news from The Wall Street Journal, see WSJ.com at .
Dow Jones Newswires
01-22-041124ET
Copyright (C) 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
