Stocks open mixed as investors pore over earnings reports

The Associated Press

Stocks were slightly lower in early trading Tuesday as traders weigh another big set of company earnings reports. Investors also are remaining cautious amid the spread of the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19.

The S&P 500 index was down 0.3% as of 10 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite index was down 0.3% as well.

Investors are in the midst of earnings season, with more than 100 companies in the S&P 500 index reporting their results this week. So far earnings have been strong, with roughly nine out of every 10 companies beating analysts’ expectations.

Clorox slumped 11% after reporting results that fell short of forecast and releasing a disappointing outlook. Ralph Lauren rose 9% after its results beat estimates.

Activision Blizzard fell 4.5% after the head of Blizzard Entertainment said he would resign, effective immediately. Blizzard, maker of popular video games such as Overwatch and World of Warcraft, has been accused in a lawsuit of having a toxic work environment which has caused walkouts by employees.

PepsiCo rose 0.5% after the beverage and snacks giant said it would spin off its Tropicana and other fruit juices into a separate company in a $3.3 billion deal.

Bond yields continued to fall. The yield on 10-year Treasury note was 1.16%, down from 1.17% the day before. Less than a month ago, the 10-year note was trading around a yield of 1.35%.

Investors will be watching closely when the Labor Department releases its July jobs report Friday. Economists surveyed by FactSet forecast that the employers created 837,500 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 5.7%.

Source: Orange County Register