The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI ) fell for the second day in a row as Europe failed to make much headway on the Greek debt talks and as five Dow components reported earnings.
|
Index
|
Change
|
Ending Value
|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average |
-33.07 [-0.26%] |
12,708 |
| S&P 500 |
-1.37 [-0.10%] |
1,314.6 |
Earnings played a major role in the Dow's decline.
Travelers' (NYSE: TRV ) earnings were $1.51 per share, below analyst expectations of $1.53. Revenue came in at $6.4 billion, above analyst expectations of $5.47 billion. Still, this company was the Dow's loss leader and finished the day down $2.29, or 3.8%, to $58.00.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ ) reported a loss of $0.71 per share. Excluding $1.20 of severance, pension, and benefit costs, EPS were $0.51, slightly below analyst expectations of $0.53. Revenue was up nearly 8% to $28.4 billion, in line with expectations. The company finished down 1.59%, or $0.61, to $37.79.
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) was the only stock that reported strong earnings this morning. Earnings per share were up 15% to $1.33, above analyst expectations of $1.30 per share. Revenue was $6.82 billion, slightly above analyst expectations of $6.81. However, as with the rest of the earnings reporters, McDonald's finished the day down 2.2%, or $2.20, to $98.75.
The best approach
Watching the broad market each day is exciting, gut-wrenching, and stressful, but investing doesn't have to be. If you're in the mood to pick up a great company to buy for the long term, The Motley Fool has created a brand-new free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." It features a company hand-selected by the Fool's chief investment officer that has a strong future ahead of it. Get access to the report and find out the name of this legendary company. The report is free but won't be forever, so check it out today.
RSS Headlines
Fool UK