What to Expect From the Dow, Pfizer, and Exxon Today

Today is going to be an exciting one for the Dow Jones Industrials Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) . Major Dow Components Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) are reporting earnings today. The Conference Board's consumer confidence report and the Case-Shiller 20-city Index report will also be released today.

The reports

• The consumer confidence index will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The monthly survey polls 5,000 households and is considered a good proxy for changing consumer behavior. Look for changes of at least 5 points as meaningful. The expectations component of the index is generally regarded as the superior leading indicator.
• The Case-Shiller 20-city Index for November markets will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, before the market opens. The report is considered a leading measure of the U.S. housing market. Considering how soft housing remains, many investors are looking for any indication of a turnaround. Unfortunately, the market expects a 3.2% retraction.

Earnings

• Pfizer is expected to post flat earnings from last year at $0.47 per share. What's more, the company is expected to post essentially flat growth over the next five years. The big news recently has been the loss of its Lipitor patent in early December and its choice to offer the drug at generic prices.
• ExxonMobil, on the other hand, is looking to post higher EPS at $1.95 per share, beating last year's $1.85. The oil giant relinquished its crown as largest U.S. company by market cap a few days ago as Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL  ) moved ahead on blowout earnings and a more than doubling of its net income. After trading spaces recently, it looks like Apple's position at the top may be more long-lived this time, as fellow oil company Chevron's (NYSE: CVX  ) recent disappointing earnings are thought to be a bad omen for Exxon. Credit Suisse lowered its earnings-per-share estimate for Chevron on the recent weakness.

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