Market Wrap-up for Oct. 31 – Wrapping Up October’s Final Week

We are now wrapping up the final day and week of October. This week, there were both tricks and treats for investors as mixed earnings reports were released and various economic reports impacted the market.

Monday

We started the week with lower results from Merck (MRK), followed by a turbulent trading day as energy stocks took center stage. Despite the rocky results in the energy industry, investors were given good news regarding Sunday's ECB Stress Test results.

After hours, the market's eyes were on Twitter (TWTR), which posted a disappointing revenue outlook, sending the stock plunging.

Tuesday

Wall Street started Tuesday off with several notable earnings releases:

Coach (COH) – Reported lower Q3 results, but beat analysts’ estimates. Shares increased. BP plc (BP) – Posted lower Q3 results and increased its dividend. Pfizer (PFE) – Reported higher earnings, but a decline in revenue. Beat estimates. DuPont (D) – Profits rose and beat estimates. Revenue declined and fell short of expectations.

Before the market opened, the Durable Goods Orders report was released, posting a 1.3% decline in September. In addition, the Case Shiller Index posted the slowest year-over-year gains in home prices in nearly two years.

On the upside, consumer confidence was up in October. The combination of the positive report and good earnings resulted in a market rally.

After hours, we saw several earnings. Notably, Facebook (FB) reported positive earnings, but shares collapsed on outlook concerns.

Wednesday

A few notable earnings started the day off on Wednesday:

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) – Reported higher revenues, but a decline in net income. Results beat estimates. Southern Company (SO) – Revenue increased, while net income dipped. Results beat estimates. Phillips 66 (PSX) –  Posted higher net income and revenue, which exceeded expectations.

The market trended downward, and losses began to accelerate after the FOMC meeting, which indicated that QE is expected to end on November 1. The central bank noted that QE will no longer be necessary due to the strong labor market.

Kraft (KRFT)  and Visa (V) reported better than expected results after hours.

Thursday

In Thursday’s pre-market, we saw several big-name earnings released:

Altria (MO) – Reported higher earnings, but a dip in revenue. Beat analysts’ expectations. ConocoPhillips (COP) – Reported increased net income that beat analysts’ views. Time Warner Cable (TWC) – Revenue increased, but earnings dipped. Missed analysts’ estimates. Mastercard (MA) – Posted higher Q3 results, which beat estimates. Shares soared. Kellogg Company (K) – Revenue and earnings fell. Earnings beat estimates, while revenue fell short of expectations.

The Dow jumped as Visa (V) gained over 10% from its positive earnings. The market was also given optimistic news from the GDP report, which rose 3% in the third quarter. The Jobless Claims report a