Stocks opened little changed on Wall Street on Tuesday at the start of a busy week for corporate earnings after major indexes notched five-year highs.
In early trading, all three major equities indexes — the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, the Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq composite index — moved very little. Both the Dow and S.&P. 500 closed last week at their highest levels so far in this earnings season, with the gains largely coming on better-than-expected results.
But despite bullish statements from major companies, including big banks, many investors were worried other reports would reflect economic uncertainty in the fourth quarter.
“The market has been pleased with earnings thus far, and it is encouraging to see a cyclical company like DuPont show revenue strength,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York, “but I’m waiting on more tech and energy earnings until I come down one way or the other on this season.”
DuPont reported revenue that was ahead of Wall Street expectations, sending shares up 1.4 percent. However, slumping demand for pigment and solar panel parts hurt fourth-quarter profit.
Travelers gained 2.9 percent after forecasting higher premiums across its businesses, though it also posted earnings that fell by half from losses related to Hurricane Sandy.
Johnson & Johnson, the diversified health company, fell 0.9 percent after forecasting 2013 earnings below expectations, while Verizon Communications lost 1.5 percent after reporting a steep loss on pension liabilities and charges related to Sandy.
All four companies are Dow components.
Overall, S&P 500 fourth-quarter earnings are forecast to have risen 2.5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. That estimate is above the 1.9 percent forecast from a week ago but well below the 9.9 percent fourth-quarter earnings forecast from Oct. 1, the data showed.
Monday was a market holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. President Barack Obama at his inauguration for a second term on Monday called for aggressive action on climate change, economic equality and the federal budget.
Markets have recently been pressured by uncertainty stemming from Washington about the federal debt limit and spending cuts that could hamper American economic growth. Republican leaders in the House of Representatives said they aim to pass on Wednesday a nearly four-month extension of the U.S. debt limit, allowing the government to borrow enough to meet its obligations during that period.
In New York trading, Research in Motion jumped 7 percent a day after its chief executive said the company may consider strategic alliances with other companies after the launch of devices powered by RIM’s new BlackBerry 10 operating system.
Stocks Open With Little Movement
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Stocks Open With Little Movement
