The stock market has reacted well to the recent stream of glum earnings. But this week, Wall Street faces an even bigger flood of first-quarter results, and as General Electric Co.'s bleak report this month showed, bad earnings can even hurt a stock market with low expectations.
Out of the 30 components that make up the Dow Jones industrial average, Bank of America Corp., American Express Co., Merck & Co., McDonald's Corp., AT&T Inc., DuPont Co., Boeing Co. and Microsoft Corp. will be reporting quarterly results this week.
Other big technology players besides Microsoft -- notably Yahoo Inc. and Apple Inc. -- are also scheduled to release earnings. So are toy makers Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc., home builder Pulte Homes Inc. and shipper United Parcel Service Inc.
Overall, Wall Street has been pleased with how companies fared during the first quarter. Its upbeat mood, however, is relative. After months of shocking news -- financial institutions on the brink of failure, demand sapped in the credit markets, and declines in the nation's payrolls and discretionary spending -- even poor earnings gave investors relief.
A case in point is Citigroup Inc., which along with Google Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. helped the stock market soar Friday. Citigroup posted a first-quarter loss that was wider than the average analyst estimate, but compared with its even-bleaker results in the fourth quarter, the first three months of 2008 looked practically decent.
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At a glance
Today
Quarterly earnings reports due from Bank of America Corp., Boston Scientific Corp., Eli Lilly & Co., Gannett Co., Hanesbrands Inc., Hasbro Inc., Lee Enterprises Inc., Mattel Inc., Merck & Co., Netflix Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc.
Tuesday
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox testifies on the role of credit rating companies in the current credit problems before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on contaminated heparin from China.
Quarterly earnings reports due from AK Steel Holding Corp., AT&T Inc., CME Group Inc., DuPont Co., JetBlue Airways Corp., Kimberly-Clark Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp., McDonald's Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp., UAL Corp., UnitedHealth Group Inc., Western Union Co., Wyeth, Yahoo Inc. and Yum Brands Inc.
Wednesday
National Assn. of Realtors reports on existing-home sales for March.
