Dow Futures

The Dow Jones Industrials Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) has been on the move in 2012, up an impressive 5.14% for the year to date. That shouldn’t be a big surprise, though, as 23 of The Dow’s 30 components have gained for the year. Of the seven with negative YTD performance, three are near zero.

Yet not every day can be a big win for the index, as today demonstrated. Markets opened sharply lower for the morning and then crawled back to a smaller loss by market close. Here is a look at how the big three indices fared today:

It was a yawn-inducing Monday for most investors, but that doesn’t mean every stock put up a boring performance. Here is a look at the three Dow components with the biggest losses today.

• The Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) was the worst-performing Dow stock today, losing 1.3%. The most obvious reason for the drop was what appears to be another stalling of the Greek debt situation. Fortunately, the majority of Travelers business is U.S.-based, so it shouldn’t suffer too badly from the situation. However, the nature of finance and insurance industries is ever more interconnected, so ripples may spread further than is justified.
• Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) was the second biggest loser for the day, erasing 1.2% of their stock price by day’s end. Not only was it down today, but it’s also one of the three worst Dow stocks this week. While there were no big storylines out of Pfizer today, the company recently had to recall 1 million birth-control packs. Couple that with the loss of the Lipitor patent, and the company could be in for a rough 2012.
• Next up on the loser train is Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) . The massive manufacturer revealed that the tail section of its 787s will need repairs. Fortunately, there is no safety concern at this time, which is perhaps why the shares were down only 1%. That could be good news for Boeing’s competitor Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) . The rival defense contractor recently inked the deal for the largest defense contract ever and is likely to pilot itself to riches as it sells its F-35 radar-evading jets. The big question for investors now is whether the defense-based Lockheed will out-earn the more consumer-facing Boeing in the next few years.

Looking past today
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The stock market may have been down today, but things could have been worse. After falling nearly 70 points in early trading, the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI  ) recovered to finish down just 17 points, at 12,845.

Despite those losses, though, some stocks managed to post some decent gains. Let’s take a closer look at three Dow stocks that saw their share prices rise on Monday.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) , up 1.1%
As a leading consumer-products giant, Procter & Gamble has the reputation for being a defensive stock for investors scared of downturns in the market. So it’s not surprising to see this stock rise on a down day for the market.

But when you look at the big picture, P&G has been sowing the seeds for long-term prosperity. Last week, the company got a record-low interest rate of 2.3% by issuing $1 billion in 10-year notes, locking in cheap financing for the next decade. 

P&G isn’t the only company taking advantage of that trend — IBM also sold $2.5 billion in three-year and five-year notes at very attractive interest rates, cutting its borrowing costs as well. Yet with 24 brands bringing in $1 billion or more, P&G has navigated changing consumer wants for 175 years. That’s why so many investors see Procter & Gamble as a good long-term investment as well as a defensively minded stock.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) , up 0.8%
Many people own Verizon for its lucrative dividend. But the company demonstrated that it’s still seeking growth as well.

Verizon announced that it’s teaming up with Coinstarto provide a video joint venture to go up against Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX  ) . The announcement was light on details, but as Fool analyst Rick Munarriz detailed earlier today, the premium video service is expected to arrive in the second half of 2012. Although a cable-based streaming-delivery system combined with Coinstar’s Redbox outlets sounds formidable given that Netflix doesn’t have a kiosk option available, the state of the industry is ever-changing. Check back in six months to see whether this combination bears fruit.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , up 1.1%
Finally, energy stocks did well today. Both Chevron and ExxonMobil posted strong gains even as the price of oil sank further below the $100 per barrel level.

Recent geopolitical events may be the culprit that’s pushing up energy shares. With Iran’s currency in a tailspin, increasing tension in the Persian Gulf region could result. Whether that would be a net positive for Chevron and its peers depends on whether potentially lost production would outweigh rising profits from oil price gains. Until the situation is resolved, look for continuing volatility from Chevron.

What will tomorrow bring?
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Most of the members of the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI  ) have already told us about how their fourth quarters went. But earnings season isn’t quite over yet.

With Europe casting a shadow over the markets today, the reports that major companies make can definitely move the market. So let’s take a closer look at the two Dow components that report their earnings tomorrow.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  )
Beverage giant Coca-Cola is hoping that the fourth quarter will mark its ninth straight quarter of growing earnings per share. Analysts expect to see EPS of $0.77, up from last year’s $0.72, when the company reports before the bell tomorrow morning. That’s also a better growth record than rival PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) , which saw an earnings decline in last year’s first quarter and is set to post its own earnings on Thursday.

What many don’t realize about Coke, however, is that beyond its money-making power, it also remains dedicated to sustainability. With efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, use recyclable packaging, protect water resources, and encourage community development, Coke seeks to keep its customer base aware of its efforts toward social responsibility. Combine this with its continued growth, and Coca-Cola is positioned for the long run regardless of what it announces tomorrow.

Disney (NYSE: DIS  )
Disney is looking to expand on a string of four consecutive quarters of higher earnings per share. Analysts think the company will make it five tomorrow afternoon, expecting $0.71 per share in net income compared to $0.68 a year ago.

Even though Comcast and General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) are the companies that directly benefited from NBC’s broadcast of the Super Bowl last night, the big game refocused attention on sports media companies like Disney, whose ESPN cable franchise is immensely valuable. But the real story for Disney for longer-term investors is whether the economic recovery that we’ve started to see signs of will accelerate or collapse. People will only visit Disney’s theme parks or see 3-D versions of its movie library if they have the money to do so — but last week’s encouraging job numbers improve the odds that those potential customers will feel more flush in the months to come.

Coming into the home stretch
Even after all the Dow companies post their earnings, keep an eye on your stocks. Often, it’s what happens between quarterly reports that can make all the difference.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) is currently down 35.08 points, or a 0.27% loss. Most financial news stories are focusing on the situation in Greece as the driver of today’s market. The embattled country is in negotiations with European leaders on another bailout, but has yet to agree to austerity measures — or budget cuts — that are a condition of the country receiving more funds.

However, blaming Greece for falling markets seems more like a story of convenience that an actual market-moving action. Consider that the Greek subplot has hung over the markets for the entirety of 2012, yet the market has been stunningly steady across the beginnings of 2012. Last year, 35% of trading days, or 89 days in total, featured the Dow Jones up or down less than 1%. This year, only two out of 23 trading days have resulted in a move more than 1%. There has yet to be a day the Dow is down more than 0.58% this year!

While the Greek saga gets a lot of press, it’s had little effect on the market this year. If investors are looking for a more important storyline in today’s markets, I’d point them toward the mortgage settlement that looks close to being finalized. California, which has been a hold-out from negotiations in recent months, is back to making a deal. While the $25 billion settlement would be a blow to banking balance sheets, it’d also remove a good deal of uncertainty from large mortgage servicers like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) . Both companies showed large gains when the mortgage lenders agreed to increase the settlement to $25 billion on Jan. 23.

So if you’re watching the market today, remember that even if constant bickering over a Greek default might feel like it’s causing instability, volatility has actually been fading since the new year began. Investors long ago realized Greece wasn’t good for its debts, so whether the country technically defaults, reaches an agreement to pay back debt at pennies on the dollar, or gets bailed out again, investors appear to have moved on and made their peace with Greece’s fiscal disaster.

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