Not even a cut in Europe's growth forecast could knock the market down for more than an hour or two today. After the European Commission cut its 2014 growth forecast to 1.1% from a previous expectation of 1.2% and said it expected unemployment to be 12.2% instead of 12.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 1.18%) tumbled in early trading. But the fall didn't last long, and by 3:30 p.m. EST the index was down a mere nine points.
On the energy side of the market, there's a little less excitement than there was yesterday. Earnings from Anadarko Petroleum (APC) were a little underwhelming, even if they did show a big jump in production. Revenue was up 16% to $3.85 billion on the back of a 61,000-barrel-of-oil-equivalent increase in U.S. onshore production per day. Net income was up 50% to $182 million, or $0.36 per share.
The disappointment came from an adjusted earnings-per-share figure of $1.13, which was $0.03 worse than estimates. Adjusted earnings take out one-time items like derivatives and asset sales, which make for a better comparison to a year ago than with those items.
Anadarko Petroleum's results haven't helped the energy sector overall, either. SandRidge Energy (NYSE: SD) is down 1.1% in advance of its earnings report after the market closes today. Investors are expecting SandRidge to report earnings of $0.03 per share on revenue of $465.7 million in the third quarter -- and after it crushed expectations for the last year, hopes are probably even higher than that.
Fellow Fool Matthew DiLallo covered the three keys to Sandridge Energy's earnings yesterday, and they include Mississippian oil growth and continued cost cuts to drilling wells. If SandRidge can continue to grow and increase margins, the company has a lot of potential for investors. We'll know more about its progress tonight.
Anadarko Petroleum's disappointing results may be hanging on energy stocks today, but companies like SandRidge Energy have very different characteristics from Anadarko. That may make the sell-off today a buying opportunity if SandRidge can continue to exceed expectations.
