Investors Applaud the Start of Earnings Season
Earnings season is off and running, and so far investors like what they see. Alcoareported earnings that met expectations last night and said that aluminum demand would rise 7% in 2013 compared with 6% in 2012, a sign of hope for the global economy. Investors have responded by moving the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.36% higher near the end of the session, while the S&P 500 is up 0.16%.
Two embattled companies are leading the Dow higher today, with Boeing up 3.3% and Hewlett-Packard gaining 2.4%. Boeing's shares jumped after management came out and said it had "extreme confidence" in the 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft have experienced a fire and a fuel leak in separate incidents in the last two days, and investors sold off the stock. For now, fear about quality issues is yesterday's news, but the stock could easily drop if problems persist.
HP is the second-biggest gainer on the Dow. Although the International Consumer Electronics Show is taking place in Las Vegas right now, it doesn't appear the company will introduce anything earth-shattering. HP has become one of those volatile Dow stocks that jump higher than others on positive days, so I wouldn't read too much into today's performance.
While most of the Dow is up today, Bank of America is down 5.3% after its stock was downgraded by Credit Suisse. The analysts think the stock has run too far, too fast and that the fundamental valuation of the company hasn't yet caught up to the stock.
Moves like this require a much deeper look into a bank stock like this. To learn more about the most talked-about bank out there, check out our in-depth company report on Bank of America. The report details Bank of America's prospects, including three reasons to buy and three reasons to sell. Just click here to get access.
The article Investors Applaud the Start of Earnings Season originally appeared on Fool.com.
Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings, or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
