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Stocks were flat on Wednesday as an unexpectedly weak read on fourth-quarter economic activity was offset by strong results at Boeing and Amazon.com.?
Equities continued to shrug off negative news, with the S&P 500 staying above 1,500, a level that market technicians call an inflection point that will determine the overall direction in the near term.?
The first read showed gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent, far below expectations for growth of 1.1 percent. However, private sector employment topped forecasts, with the ADP National Employment report showing 192,000 jobs added in January, higher than the 165,000 expectation.?
"The GDP report is the only negative shock we've had in a while, and it isn't terrible since it showed increases in business and consumer spending, which is what everyone wants to drive growth from here," said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.?
Deeper losses were prevented by a rise in both Boeing Co and Amazon.com Inc , which rallied after earnings beat expectations, continuing a trend this quarter of high-profile names advancing after results.?
Amazon.com Inc rose 6.7 percent to $277.87 a day after reporting strong revenue growth. Boeing rose 0.5 percent to $74 after its results. The Dow component also said that while production continued on its Dreamliner jet, which has had technical problems recently, it was suspending delivery until clearance was granted by the Federal Aviation Administration.?
Thomson Reuters data showed that of the 174 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings this season, 68.4 percent have been above analyst expectations, which is a higher proportion than over the past four quarters and above the average since 1994.?
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 5.50 points, or 0.04 percent, at 13,959.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.09 points, or 0.07 percent, at 1,508.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 5.73 points, or 0.18 percent, at 3,159.39.?
The S&P 500 is on track to post its best monthly performance since October 2011 as investors poured $55 billion in new cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in January, the biggest monthly inflow on record.?
The Dow Jones industrial average has been flirting with 14,000, a level it hasn't seen since October 2007. Many analysts have said markets may need to take a pause.?
"I'm neutral on markets at these levels, even though there aren't a lot of negatives out there," Frederick said. "At some point there will be a pullback, but the underlying trends remain strong and I think it is possible the S&P could hit a new all-time high sometime this quarter."?
The all-time intraday high for the S&P 500 is 1,576.09, reached October 11, 2007.?
The Federal Reserve concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday, and while the central bank is expected to keep monetary policy on a steady path, intensive debates continue behind the scenes over when the controversial bond-buying program should be curtailed.?
Chesapeake Energy Corp rose 11 percent to $21.11 as the S&P's biggest percentage gainer, a day after saying Aubrey McClendon would step down as chief executive after a year in which a series of Reuters investigations triggered civil and criminal probes of the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer.?
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/wall-street-flat-weak-economic-activity-data-1B8174853
Today is Q4 earnings day for Facebook, and we’ve learned some really interesting things about the growth of the social network. Surprisingly to some, mobile DAUs have exceeded those on the web, for the first time in the company’s history. We knew that Facebook was focused on growing its network leveraging mobile devices and platforms, but it’s impressive to see this usage increase in such a way so quickly. To those who have been following Facebook closely, the shift to mobile has been apparent. More and more, people are checking their Facebook messages on their mobile device and skipping the desktop version completely. This is a behavioral shift in users that Facebook is riding along with, and it’s smart. Here’s a quick look at the overall DAUs for Q4: Overall MAUs were at 1.06B, up from 1.01B in Q3. Here’s a look at the data from the the quarter: None of these numbers include Instagram. When the release hit the wires today, it came with a statement from Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg: In 2012, we connected over a billion people and became a mobile company. We enter 2013 with good momentum and will continue to invest to achieve our mission and become a stronger, more valuable company. As far as making money, mobile accounted for 23% of advertising revenue, which is up from 14% of advertising revenue in Q3 of of 2012. Back in September at TechCrunch Disrupt, Zuckerberg projected that one day, Facebook would make more revenue from mobile users. That’s not the case as of yet, but the shift is in full swing. At the time, he said: We?re going to execute this mission to make the world connected and build value over the long-term. The bigger question that will define how we?ve done is how we do with mobile. Facebook stock declined 7% in after-hours trading even though its revenue rose 40% To $1.59B for Q4 2012. Since the release, it’s popping back up a bit. During the earnings call, Zuckerberg discussed the power of mobile: It allows us to reach more people, there is more engagement from those people, and we’ll be able to make more money from those users. Mobile creates a more dynamic ecosystem. He also discussed Facebook’s new approach to build mobile-first applications and features. This is something that everyone has been waiting to hear from Facebook, as the company has
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