Wall Street left to grapple with disappointing earnings

The short and strained reprieve Wall Street got may not last long, as reflected by the index futures, which point to a notably lower opening on Friday. With economic data remaining just lukewarm, sub-par earnings and insipid forward guidance are tricking in thick and fast. Notable among the disappointments of the day would be Apple (AAPL), which reported below-consensus earnings for the second straight quarter. Traders may also stay tuned to the advance estimate of third quarter GDP due for release before the markets open.
As of 6:15 pm ET, the Dow futures are receding 87 points, the S&P 500 futures are declining 10.80 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are receding 16.75 points.
U.S. stocks rebounded on Thursday, although the recovery lacked conviction. The Dow Industrials ended up 26.34 points or 0.20 percent at 13,104 and the S7P 500 Index gained 4.22 points or 0.30 percent before closing at 1,413, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 2,986, up 4.42 points or 0.15 percent. The Commerce Department is due to release its advance estimate of third quarter GDP report at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect sequential GDP growth for 1.9 percent for the growth compared to 1.3 percent growth in the second quarter.
Reuters and the University of Michigan are due to release the final estimates of the consumer sentiment index for October based on their survey at 9:55 am ET. Economists expect the index to be left unrevised at 83.1.
Apple reported fourth quarter earnings of $8.67 per share compared to $7.05 per share in the year-ago period. The earnings trailed estimates. However, net sales of $35.97 billion and also exceeded estimates. The company issued downbeat guidance for its first quarter.
Amazon (AMZN) reported a loss for its third quarter, which was wider than what most analysts had expected. Net sales also trailed expectations.
Weyerhaeuser (WY) reported third quarter earnings of 22 cents per share compared to adjusted earnings of 12 cents per share last year. Net sales rose to $1.78 billion from $1.57 billion last year. The earnings exceeded estimates, while the net sales were slightly below estimates.
Macerich (MAC) announced a 5.5 percent increase in its quarterly dividend to 58 cents per share. Microsoft (MSFT) announced that its new PC Microsoft Surface is available for purchase at all Microsoft retail holiday and online stores in the U.S. and Canada.
Asian stocks ended mostly lower as regional corporate earnings and Apple’s downbeat earnings dampened investor mood.
Japanese stocks fell sharply as the yen’s brief rally against the dollar and the euro caused jittery investors to take some profits off the table following recent gains. The Nikkei average ended down 122.14 points or 1.35 percent at 8,933.