Placing hopes on earnings (ISFM) (19-01-2011)

World markets were steady today after gains across the board in Asia, as investors were awaiting more US bank results, following the stellar performance of Apple Inc. Figures from investment bank Goldman Sachs are next on the agenda and investors are hoping that bank balance sheets will show that less money has been put aside for losses, which will mean that progress has been made. After Apple’s fiscal first-quarter net income showing an increase of 78 percent from the previous year, , eBay Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are due to release quarterly results, while the U.S. Commerce Department's was scheduled to publish housing starts for December.

European stocks could not keep up with the gains and remained flat as yesterday’s rally which was based on hopes that EU officials were preparing a more comprehensive strategy to fight the debt crisis, as traders turned their eyes to the U.S. corporate earnings schedule.

Earnings season does not start in Europe until next week, but some companies are showing promise, such as Pearson, the publisher of Penguin books and the Financial Times, which has raised its earnings guidance, sending the stock up 5 percent in London. In Germany, growth forecast for this year has been raised to 2.3 percent from 1.8 percent earlier thanks to strong exports and recovering domestic demand, but the shadow of the debt crisis is still enveloping the region.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 82.26 yen from 82.59 yen late yesterday, while the euro rose to $1.3453 from $1.3387. Oil prices were slightly higher with crude rising to $91.88 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On Wall Street, the opening bell brought losses today, after Goldman Sachs reported a drop in earnings, while strong results from Apple Inc. helped boost some technology stocks.

Source: ISFM