A mixed bag of earnings and uncertainty over future monetary policy in Europe is keeping volatility in US markets supressed this week with the S&P 500 capped at around 2,030 and 17,540 an issue for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
US stock markets are expected to open lower on Wednesday but with minimal economic data being released, the eventual direction will be at the behest of oil prices and earnings data. Price ranges will likely remain below normal ahead of the ECB bond purchases (or lack thereof) announcement on Thursday.
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares rallied to $350 on Tuesday thanks to quarterly profits easily beating expectations. The key support level around $320 may still be at risk when greater scrutiny of the numbers shows all of the profit gain above expectations for Netflix was due to a one off tax adjustment. The online video streaming company guided earnings expectations lower for the first quarter of 2015.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares may be in play on Wednesday upon the unveiling of its new operating system Windows 10. Windows 8 is widely viewed as a complete failure and that goes some way to explain a very fast turnaround of a new operating system that even appears to have skipped a numeral (9?).
Microsoft needs a better execution of what is probably the right idea of creating an operating system that can be used on both PCs and mobile; failure to do so could see further erosion of their dominant position in the PC market to Apple and Google and shares could suffer as a result.
Earnings are expected on Wednesday from eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY), American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), US Bancorp and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK).
Futures suggest the:
S&P 500 will open 1 point lower at 2,021 with the
Dow Jones expected to open 25 points lower at 17,490 and the
NASDAQ 2 points lower at 4,169.
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