General Electric (GE) EPS beat street expectations by a penny, showing EPS of $0.34. Revenue was also strong, up 4% when you back out revenue earned by the NBC-unit, now owned by Comcast. GE prices are indicated up 1% in premarket trade. Schlumberger (SLB) reported EPS in line with consensus, at $0.98, but strong revenue has helped SLB to gain 3% this morning. We are still waiting this morning on McDonald’s (MCD) quarterly report.
The strong day of reports seemingly kicked off last night with Microsoft (MSFT) beating by 2 cents at $0.60. MSFT is indicated to open 3.6% higher when markets open in an hour. Chipolte (CMG) also beat expectations, but CMG has only gained 0.5% ahead of the open.
Today, officials from the G-20, IMF, and World Bank begin meetings in Washington, D.C. We do not expect any fireworks there until an official communique is released over the weekend – but will keep an ear to the ground.
We are in the midst of an incredibly strong earnings quarter with major companies beating the street’s expectations on a daily basis. Yet, the market has not rallied yet. We think that with all the data out, the market could be biding its time before another run higher. We are eyeing the S&P futures to move back past 1,420 in the coming weeks.