U.S. stocks fell in volatile trading on Monday as investors prepared for a busy week of earnings featuring reports from the largest tech companies.

The Dow Jones Industrials slumped 209.94 points to 30,787.04

The S&P 500 stumbled 11.43 points to 3,830.04.

The NASDAQ saw its initial gains of the morning evaporate and lost 5.42 points from Friday’s all-time high to 13,537.64.

This coming week 13 Dow components and 111 S&P 500 companies are set to report earnings. Among the quarterly reports on deck include those from Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Tesla, McDonald’s, Honeywell, Caterpillar and Boeing.

Apple shares gained 1.8% to about $140 a share before its quarterly report Wednesday after the bell. Tesla, which also reports Wednesday, was up 2.2%.

Highly speculative action in stocks like GameStop was unnerving some investors, causing worry that parts of the market had detached from fundamentals and could cause the broader market to take … Read the rest

Equities in Toronto did their best before Friday’s closing bell to minimize losses on the day and week, but too much weakness in the energy sector made positive movement difficult

The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 70.29 points to end Friday at 17,845.91. The loss on the last five sessions was 63 points, or 0.35%

The Canadian dollar subsided 0.47 cents to 78.59 cents U.S.

Energy wore the heaviest weights of the losing subgroups Friday, with Vermilion Energy sliding 40 cents, or 5.6%, to $6.77, while Crescent Point Energy weakened 18 cents, or 4.5%, to $3.81.

In other resource stocks Osisko Mining gave back 10 cents, or 3.1%, to $3.15, while Previum Resources surrendered 33 cents, or 2.5%, to $13.42.

Golds also had a rough time of it, as Centerra Gold handed back 34 cents, or 2.4%, to $13.89, while OceanaGold dished off four cents, or 1.7%, to $2.34.

Tech stocks … Read the rest

Monday

U.S.

Featured Earnings

BancorpSouth Bank (NYSE:BXS) (Q4) EPS estimates for 64 cents, compared to 65 cents in the prior-year quarter.

H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE: FUL) (Q4) EPS estimates for 87 cents, compared to 88 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) (Q4) EPS estimates for $1.61, compared to $1.71 in the prior-year quarter.

Canada

Featured Earnings

Calfrac Well Services Ltd. (T.CFW) (Q4) EPS estimates for a loss of $11.50, compared to a loss of $17.00 in the prior-year quarter.

Yamana Gold Inc. (T.YRI) (Q4) EPS estimates for 14 cents, compared to 13 cents in the prior-year quarter.

U.S.

Tuesday

U.S.

Economic lookahead

FHFA house price index (Nov.)

S&P Case-Shiller home price index (Nov.)

Consumer Confidence Index (Jan.)

Featured Earnings

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) (Q4) EPS estimates for $2.19, compared to $1.95 in the prior-year quarter.

ADM (NYSE: ADM) (Q4) EPS estimates for $1.04, compared to $1.42 in the

U.S. stocks fell on Friday, retreating from record levels, as investors reassessed the outlook for President Joe Biden’s ambitious COVID stimulus plan.

The Dow Jones Industrials decreased 160.57 points to 31,015.44.

The S&P 500 slid 12.18 points to 3,840.89.

The NASDAQ retreated 24.82 points from Thursday’s all-time high to 13,503.50, supported by gains in Microsoft and Facebook.

Despite Friday’s weakness, major averages are on pace to post a winning week. The S&P 500 is up 2.2% for the week so far. The Dow is up 0.6% and the NASDAQ is up 3.8%.

Dow-component IBM fell more than 9% after the company reported fourth-quarter sales below where analysts were expecting. Revenue fell 6% on an annualized basis, the fourth consecutive quarter of declines. Intel shares retreated 7% following a 6% pop on Thursday after it released better-than-expected earnings.

Hopes for a robust earnings season from the country’s largest communications and tech … Read the rest

The Canadian dollar spiked yesterday and managed to hang on to the gains overnight. The currency pair had a lot of company, as a soaring New Zealand dollar led the major G-10 currencies in a broad rally. The weak U.S. dollar stems from President Joe Biden’s plans for a $1.9-trillion relief package, which improved risk-sentiment worldwide.

The Bank of Canada left interest rates unchanged. Some participants had expected a “micro-cut” which would have trimmed rates from 0.25% to 0.10%. Instead, they delivered an upbeat outlook for the economy in the second half of the year.

The bank upgraded Gross Domestic Product forecasts from the 4.6% y/y prediction in October to 5.2%.

It also injected “tapering” into the monetary policy outlook. The statement said, “As the Governing Council gains confidence in the strength of the recovery, the pace of net purchases of Government of Canada bonds will be adjusted as required.” … Read the rest

Stocks climbed for a second day on Wednesday ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, while a slew of strong corporate earnings boosted sentiment on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 208.36 points to 31,138.88.

The S&P 500 strengthened 45.94 points, or 1.2%, to 3,844.88, an all-time high, led by the communication services sector.

The NASDAQ leaped 233.69 points, or 1.8%, to 13,430.87, also a record, amid a pop in Netflix shares.

Netflix soared more than 13% after the company reported strong subscriber growth and said it’s considering share buybacks. Netflix handily beat estimates for global paid net subscriber additions, reporting 8.5 million versus the 6.47 million analysts anticipated. The company also said it expects to break even on a cash flow basis this year.

Shares of streaming-competitor Disney jumped more than 2% following Netflix’s strong subscriber numbers.

Morgan Stanley gained as much as 2% after earnings and revenue topped … Read the rest

Stocks edged higher on Tuesday, rebounding from a rough week, as investors digested results from the new earnings season as well as signals for another big stimulus and faster pace of vaccine distribution ahead.

The Dow Jones Industrials came off their morning highs, but were still favourable 63.35 points to 30,877.61.

The S&P 500 strengthened 14.1 points to 3,782.29

The NASDAQ acquired 82.25 points to 13,080.61.

Shares of Goldman Sachs erased earlier gains and last traded 1.5% lower as traders took profits after the bank topped expectations for fourth-quarter profit and revenue. The blowout results came on the back of strong performance from its equities traders and investment bankers.

Bank of America dipped 1% after the bank posted quarterly revenue that missed expectations. Earnings came in slightly ahead of estimates, however.

The first week of earnings season saw a historically high proportion of beats with 88% of the S&P 500 … Read the rest

The Canadian dollar is under pressure to start the week. USD/CAD closed Friday at $1.2738 and prices climbed steadily, rising to $1.2798 just before Toronto opened. The Canadian dollar weakness is part of broad shift in U.S. dollar sentiment following last week’s $1.9-trillion Relief package announced by President-Elect Joe Biden. Many analysts believe that the Biden’s plan will stoke inflation, and force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and many of his colleagues pushed back against that view, but the dollar continues to firm. The greenback strength may also be due to the unwinding of positions that were put into place on anticipation of the stimulus plan.

There is a minor whiff of negative risk sentiment in the air due to U.S. media hyping the prospect of wide-spread violence from pro-Trump supporters when Biden is inaugurated.

The Canadian dollar may also be … Read the rest

Stocks in Toronto trudged toward the finish of the second week of calendar 2021, burdened by losses in the energy and gold sector.

The TSX remained behind 49.06 points to close Friday and the week to 17,909.64. On the week, the loss amounted to 133 points, or 0.7%.

The Canadian dollar let go of 0.56 cents at 78.51 cents U.S.

Energy rested heaviest on the exchange, with PrairieSky Royalties losing 58 cents, or 5.1%, to $10.90 and MEG Energy off 26 cents, or 5.3%, to $4.64.

Gold took a licking, too, as Eldorado Gold lost 82 cents, or 5.4%, to $14.36, while Teranga Gold sifted off 58 cents, or 4.4%, to $12.56.

Among other resources, Osisko Mining deducted 22 cents, or 6.3%, to $3.25, while Fortuna Silver Mines dipped 79 cents, or 7.6%, to $9.63.

Consumer staples tried to even things out, with Alimentation Couche-Tard darting $1.80 ahead, or 5%, … Read the rest

Monday

U.S.

Markets closed for Martin Luther King Day

Tuesday

U.S.

Featured Earnings

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) (Q4) EPS projected to be 55 cents, compared to 74 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) (Q4) EPS projected to be $6.68, compared to $4.69 in the prior-year quarter.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) (Q4) EPS projected to be $1.28, compared to $1.35 in the prior-year quarter.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) (Q4) EPS projected to be $1.38, compared to $1.30 in the prior-year quarter.

Canada

Economic lookahead

Monthly Survey of Manufacturing (Nov.) Manufacturing sales rose 0.3% to $54.1 billion in October on higher sales of non-durable products. Nevertheless, sales in the manufacturing sector were 3.0% below their pre-pandemic levels in February.

Wholesale Trade (Nov.) The sale of wholesale products rose 1.0% in October to $66.7 billion. It was the sixth consecutive increase for the sector.

Wednesday

U.S.

Economic lookahead

National Association … Read the rest