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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Stocks showed signs of stabilizing Monday morning after last week's sell-off as traders -- worried about slowing economic growth -- look ahead to this week's slew of earnings reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 3.10 to 10,090.61, Charts) clawed back from early losses and was little changed about an hour into the session. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 (up 4.26 to 1,146.88, Charts) index edged higher.
The Nasdaq composite (up 12.61 to 1,920.76, Charts) made the best showing, posting modest gains after opening flat.
But investors were still trying to get their bearings after the heavy selling late last week.
"We're in a state of shock," David Briggs, head of stock trading at Federated Investors, told CNN/Money Monday morning. "The S&P lost 50 points in four days."
The major gauges all sank nearly 2 percent Friday, capping a three-session sell-off that took the Dow down about 400 points in the worst week for the 30-share index in over two years, while the S&P 500 also fell sharply.
U.S. light crude oil for May delivery fell 15 cents to $50.34 a barrel in electronic trading.
Treasury bond edged higher as investors sought the safety of government debt, though they were off their highest levels of the morning. The yield on the 10-year note fell to 4.23 percent from 4.24 percent late Friday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The dollar lost ground on the euro and the yen.
COMEX gold gained 20 cents to $426.70 an ounce.
In global trade, Asian-Pacific stocks ended lower, and European shares were also down at midday.
With no major economic reports due Monday, traders will look to Wall Street for signs of economic strength. This week will be one of the busiest on the earnings calendar, as more than 400 companies will report results, including 12 of the 30 of the Dow components. (For a special report on earnings, click here.)
Early Monday Dow component 3M (Research) reported slightly better than forecast earnings and said second-quarter results should be at or above the consensus estimates from earnings tracker First Call. The diversified manufacturer also reiterated its full-year earnings guidance.
Bank of America (Research), the nation's No. 3 bank, also reported better than forecast earnings, and drugmaker Eli Lilly (Research) edged past analysts' forecasts by a penny. But toymaker Hasbro (Research) reported weaker than expected earnings, and European electronics manufacturer Phillips also posted disappointing results.
In more corporate news, computer document company Adobe Systems (Research) agreed to buy multimedia software firm Macromedia (Research) in a $3.4 billion stock deal.
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