Strong Earnings Reports Continue To Surpass Expecations

The market is lower this morning, despite another large batch of better than expected earnings reports. I covered the Amazon.com (AMZN) earnings report for TheStreet.com (will post later), and they were the biggest standout. The stock is rocketing +23% higher this morning on their blowout earnings.

Microsoft (MSFT) also had surprisingly strong earnings, for once, and that stock is nicely higher also (+6.9%). But it wasn't just tech stocks, credit card companies American Express (AXP) and Capital One (COF) both surpassed expectations; Industrial behemoth Honeywell (HON) bested the consensus, as did durable goods maker Whirlpool (WHR).

So the strong earnings reports are pretty widespread, and are a good sign that the economic recovery has a more solid foundation than the naysayers would have you believe.

Asian markets were higher overnight, and European bourses were all higher this morning as well. The PMI for the eurozone grew in October at its fastest rate since December 2007, rising to 53.0 from 51.1 in September.

There was also a better than expected housing report here in the US, as September existing home sales hit a rate of 5.57 million vs. expectations for 5.35 million. I mentioned recently that the housing data is notoriously lumpy, but this is one of the good lumps. lol

The dollar is bouncing this morning, after a prolonged slide, which is weighing on commodity prices as well as the energy and materials sectors; the 10-year yield is up slightly to 3.45%; and the low VIX is bouncing +3.1% to 21.34.

Trading comment: The market "feels" a bit tired after making new highs earlier this week. We have seen some distribution days (higher volume selloffs) lately, but I still don't see any clear signs that any pullback will be more than the 3-5% variety we have been seeing. As such, the stair-step market is still intact, and another mild pullback could simply be another buying opportunity as we move toward year-end.