U.S. Market
Stocks were sharply lower today as oil prices moved lower.
Oil futures fell further today as hope for production cuts faded.
At midday the Dow and S&P 500 were each down around 1.8% while the Nasdaq was off 2.2%.
Stocks on the Move
Alphabet (GOOG)(GOOGL) posted mixed fourth-quarter results which beat consensus estimates for revenue and EPS while falling short versus operating income projections. The quarter was the first time management reported financial results by operating segments (Google and Other Bets). As expected, Google generates almost all revenue for the firm (99.4% of total revenue in 2015) and all of the operating income as Other Bets generated an operating loss of $3.6 billion for the year. Shares rose 1.3% on the report, sending Alphabet’s market cap higher than Apple’s (AAPL), and making the firm the most valuable publically traded company.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) said that its earnings fell to 67 cents a share in the fourth-quarter from $1.56 a share in the year-ago quarter. Still, earnings were above the 63 cents per share expected by analysts. The firm is under pressure from sharply lower oil prices. Shares dropped 2.2% at market close.
Shares of BP (BP) plunged nearly 8.5% after the firm reported results that were below expectations. The Firm said it lost $5.2 billion in 2015 and said it is planning on cutting 3,000 more jobs and find other ways to cut costs.
UPS (UPS) had better-than-anticipated fourth-quarter results. The firm earned $1.48 per share in the quarter, a big rebound from the 49 cents a share in made in the year-ago quarter. Excluding one-time charges, the company made $1.57 per share versus expectations that it would earn $1.42 per share. Revenues rose year-over-year due to strength in domestic package deliveries. Shares rose less than 1% on the report.
Shares of Pfizer (PFE) were little changed after the firm reported solid quarterly results but provided a disappointing forecast. The firm reported core revenue growth as new drugs helped boost sales lost in the face of declining revenues from several former blockbuster drugs that have come off patent in recent years. However, for the full year Pfizer management said that both earnings and revenue would be below the level expected by analysts.