The stock market is getting pulled in two different directions. On one hand, earnings have generally been a nice surprise, with Amazon.com adding to the positive momentum with a 14% jump after announcing strong results from digital sales stemming from its Kindle Fire release. But on the economic front, U.S. GDP came in weaker than expected, and a downgrade of Spanish debt served as a reminder that bond-market problems in Europe could be around for quite a while. At around 10:45 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI) were up just 19 points to 13,223, while the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) was nearly unchanged.
Among Dow Stocks, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) fell more than 3% after a disappointing report. The company beat earnings estimates, but net income dropped from last year's levels. More troubling was P&G cutting its full-year forecast for earnings, citing Venezuelan-mandated price cuts that have eaten into profits. As costs continue to rise for some of its raw materials, P&G will face margin pressure that could adversely affect the company's results well into the future.
Meanwhile, economically sensitive stocks were mixed. Alcoa (NYSE: AA) dropped 0.7% in response to the weak GDP figures, despite some favorable trends that it should benefit from in the aerospace industry. Boeing (NYSE: BA), on the other hand, was up slightly on news that it could get a significant order from Philippine Airlines. Even if the overall global economy slows, you can expect certain key industries to keep going strong -- especially if the huge demand for new aircraft and the materials needed to make them continues.
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