At market open it looked like a good day for the market. All three indices were up in early morning trading, but quickly fell off to lunchtime lows. From there they fought back to … basically flat.
|
|
Gain / Loss |
Gain / Loss % |
Ending Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI ) |
-11.66 |
-.09% |
12,708 |
| Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC) |
-2.53 |
-.09% |
2,784 |
| S&P 500 |
+.62 |
+.05% |
1,316 |
Hurry up and wait
Of course, the big news today isn't really about today, it's tomorrow. A large number of Dow components, five to be exact, are reporting before market open. I imagine shareholders aren't keen about moving one way or another until they can get a beat on those major players. So which companies should investors watch tomorrow? Du Pont (NYSE: DD), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Verizon, and Travelers are all reporting before the bell, so look for a lot of pre-market movement.
What to Expect?
Du Pont is the first to announce with an early-bird-only 6:00 am earnings release. Wall Street is expecting $0.33 per share, a large drop from the $0.50 reported at this time last year. Trading at a P/E of 13.4, the company seems fairly priced, though.
McDonald's is expected to post $1.29, a nice jump from the $1.16 posted last year. After a stellar 2011, the golden arches are certainly looking for a repeat performance. It will be tough to do purely domestically, though, so watch for language about their growth in China.
Johnson & Johnson was plagued with product recalls in 2011, but it'll certainly take more than that to derail them. Trading for 15x earnings and sporting a 3.5% dividend, they are a great company no matter what. Whether they meet, miss, or beat tomorrow, this company is around for the long haul.
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