After yesterday's late-session rally, the stock market gets off to a
flat start. Futures were suggesting a slightly higher start, but buying
interest faded as crude oil (-0.6% at $127.68) pared some its losses.
The market is digesting a barrage of earnings reports and a warning
from a warehouse retailer. Pfizer (PFE 18.85, +0.50), McDonald's (MCD 59.38, -0.74), PepsiCo (PEP
66.32, +0.13), General Dynamics (GD 83.90, +0.52) and WellPoint (WLP
53.21, +4.50) all reported earnings topped Wall Street's forecast, and
increased earnings per share versus the prior year.
There were some earnings misses as well. Washington Mutual (WM 5.80,
-0.03), Yahoo! (YHOO 21.61, +0.21) and E*Trade (ETFC 3.60, -0.45) fell
short of estimates. On another negative note, Costco (COST 62.49, -9.51) warned that its
latest earnings per share for its latest quarter will fall "well below"
the current consensus estimate of $1.00. Costco cited increased
inflation, especially energy costs, and a larger-than-expected LIFO
accounting charge.