Dow Futures

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) fell for the second day in a row as Europe failed to make much headway on the Greek debt talks and as five Dow components reported earnings.

Earnings played a major role in the Dow’s decline.

Travelers‘ (NYSE: TRV  ) earnings were $1.51 per share, below analyst expectations of $1.53. Revenue came in at $6.4 billion, above analyst expectations of $5.47 billion. Still, this company was the Dow’s loss leader and finished the day down $2.29, or 3.8%, to $58.00.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) reported a loss of $0.71 per share. Excluding $1.20 of severance, pension, and benefit costs, EPS were $0.51, slightly below analyst expectations of $0.53. Revenue was up nearly 8% to $28.4 billion, in line with expectations. The company finished down 1.59%, or $0.61, to $37.79.

McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD  ) was the only stock that reported strong earnings this morning. Earnings per share were up 15% to $1.33, above analyst expectations of $1.30 per share. Revenue was $6.82 billion, slightly above analyst expectations of $6.81. However, as with the rest of the earnings reporters, McDonald’s finished the day down 2.2%, or $2.20, to $98.75.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) finished down 0.09% today; however, some stocks did much better than the Dow as a whole.

 Today’s Top 3

1. Today’s leader was Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) ,which finished up 2.55% [$0.18] to end the day at $7.25. Bank of America and the other largest mortgage lenders have proposed a $25 billion settlement with states over the foreclosure scandal.
2. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) was second behind Bank of America today, finishing up 1.96% [$0.55] to end the day at $28.68. The tech giant is up with the rest of the tech sector following the positive earnings from industry stalwarts last week.
3. Intel (Nasdaq: INTC  ) took third for the day, up 1.25% [$0.33] to end the day at $26.71. Like with Hewlett-Packard, the stock is up with the rest of the tech sector. Intel was one of the stalwarts that reported earnings last week, exceeding expectations on both earnings per share and revenue.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) finished up close to flat today. But some names got hit hard. These three tumbled the most:

Each of these companies reports their quarterly earnings later this week. Travelers and Verizon will report tomorrow, whereas Procter & Gamble will be reporting on Friday.

Travelers is coming off a difficult 2011 for property and casualty insurance. Losses pushed its combined ratio up to 104.5% in its third quarter, meaning it paid out more in claims than it earned in premiums. But barring any major disasters, it’s expected to report much better earnings tomorrow — $1.46 per share versus $0.80 in the previous quarter, or $1.98 in the previous year’s fourth quarter.

For Procter & Gamble, the consensus earnings estimate among the dart-throwers is for $1.13 per share, down slightly from $1.12 in last year’s quarter. But not all’s wrong with the consumer products stalwart, despite an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus cutting its earnings estimate today; investors will want to keep an eye on how P&G’s fast-growing international operations are coming along. In the last year alone, they’ve increased nearly 7% to $52.1 billion.

Verizon is expected to report earnings of $0.49 per share tomorrow, versus $0.52 in last year’s quarter. Eager investors will also finally find out how many iPhone subscribers Verizon added since the launch of Apple‘s (Nasdaq: AAPL  ) iPhone 4S. Apple is also reporting tomorrow. Analysts expect it to generate some $39 billion in sales, including 30 million iPhone and 13 million iPads. Wow.

Today Travelers, Procter & Gamble, and Verizon got torched, but it’s important for us to remember that what happens to stocks on a day-to-day basis matters far less than their long-term performance. If you’re interested in one stock that our chief investment officer has picked to crush the market in 2012, check out our brand new report, “The Motley Fool’s Top Stock for 2012.” It highlights a company that is revolutionizing commerce in Latin America. For a limited time, you can get instant access to the name of this company by clicking here – and it’s free. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) rose as high as 12,764 in early trading this morning before falling below where it started, as investors grew more nervous about Europe. Europe has still not finalized the terms of a second bailout package for Greece, and the EU agreed to ban imports of Iranian crude starting July 1. At 1:30 p.m. EST, the Dow was down 32 points to 12,688.

After the EU announced the import ban, Iran reiterated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz. While the embargo will not likely have an effect on world prices, if Iran were to follow through on trying to block the Strait and a conflict arose, oil prices could skyrocket.

Leading the Dow down is Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) . The stock is down 1.87% to $64.99 after Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the stock from buy to hold after cutting its earnings forecast for the company. Procter & Gamble reports earnings on Friday. Analysts expect earnings per share of $1.08 and revenue of $22.2 billion.

Runner-up loser is Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) , which is down 1.82% to $60.47. The company reports earnings tomorrow. Analysts expect earnings per share of $1.52 and revenue of $5.5 billion.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) was up the last three days this week and finished up 2.4%.

This week’s top 3
This week’s leader was Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) , which finished up 6.96% [$0.46] to end the week at $7.07. The company reported positive earnings Thursday morning, after which its stock rose as high as $7.29 before it gave away its gains as the day progressed. While the earnings weren’t stupendous, they were enough to make Bank of America profitable over the past year.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) was second behind Bank of America this week, finishing up 6.19% [$1.64] to end the week at $28.13. The stock is up along with the positive earnings announcements from IBM, Microsoft, and Intel. After a dismal 2011, the company is now up 9% so far in 2012.

IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) took third for the week, up 5.21% [$1.49] to end the day at $105.75. The company reported earnings that beat analyst expectations.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) finished up today 0.37%, the third up day in a row.

Today’s Top 3

1. Today’s leader was Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) which finished up 2.35% [$0.16] to end the day at $6.96. The company reported positive earnings this morning, after which its stock rose as high as $7.29 early in the session before it gave away its gains as the day progressed. While the earnings weren’t stupendous, they were enough to make Bank of America profitable over the past year.
2. Alcoa (NYSE: AA  ) was second behind Bank of America today, finishing up 1.60% [$0.16] to end the day at $10.18. During the past two days, shares have rallied on the news of slowing Chinese GDP growth. While counterintuitive, this is positive as many believe this will lead to an easing of Chinese monetary policy and thus faster growth in the future.
3. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) took third for the day, up 1.43% [$1.49] to end the day at $105.75. Like Alcoa, the shares have rallied the past two days on news of a possible easing of Chinese monetary policy.

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On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) rose throughout the day to end at its highest level since July, after Goldman Sachs reported earnings above average expectations, easing investors fears over fourth-quarter bank earnings. Thursday could be an even bigger day, with Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and other stalwarts reporting earnings. First, check out today’s performance.

Bank of America as well as four other Dow components all report earnings Thursday. The Dow’s performance will probably be predicated on these stocks.

For financials, this week Citigroup posted earnings below expectations, while Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo reported above-average earnings. Analysts have varying expectations for Bank of America, as it is much more similar to Citigroup than it is to Goldman Sachs or Wells Fargo. It will certainly be an interesting one to watch. Analyst expectations for American Express are much narrower than for Bank of America. Fool analyst Dan Caplinger recently took a look at American Express and called it “the value play in the card industry.“

On the technology side, Motley Fool tech editor Eric Bleeker believes tomorrow could be tech’s biggest day of the quarter as blue-chip tech stocks IBM, Intel, and Microsoft all report after the bell, as does Google. These four stocks should provide a good bellwether for the rest of the tech sector.

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Today was a positive day for the market, with all three major indices closing in the black. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) spiked at the opening bell and maintained its advance, finishing up 0.78%. The S&P 500 closed up 1.11% while the Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC  ) led the charge, gaining 1.53%.

The losers
But while the vast majority of the Dow’s 30 companies were positive on the day, there were three that finished the day in the red. Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) was the biggest Dow loser, ending down 0.24%. The company declined today despite an acknowledgement by rival Airbus that Boeing could deliver more planes in 2012, which would be the first time since 2003 that Boeing out-delivered Airbus.

One of the other Dow losers on the day was Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT  ) , which finished down 0.09%. Microsoft reports earnings tomorrow and will hope to keep its momentum going in 2012, as the stock has gained nearly 9% so far this year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are expecting the company to post earnings per share of $0.76 for its fiscal second quarter, which would be one cent lower than last year’s Q2 earnings. Tomorrow is a huge day for technology companies overall, with Google, Intel, and IBM reporting as well.

The final Dow loser was Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) , ending the day down just 0.03%. Verizon is one of the five Dow stocks that has declined this year. The stock is down nearly 3% so far in 2012. 

While Boeing, Microsoft, and Verizon all lost to the market today, our chief investment officer has picked out one stock that he believes will crush the market in 2012. To see this company, check out our brand new free report, “The Motley Fool’s Top Stock for 2012.” It highlights a company that is revolutionizing commerce in Latin America. You can get instant access to the name of this company for free.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) rose throughout the day to end at its highest level since July. The S&P 500 was also up and crossed the 1,300 mark, which it also hasn’t been seen since July.

What caused stocks to climb?

1. We saw above-expectations earnings from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS  ) , which eased investor fears over U.S. banks’ fourth-quarter earnings. Dow component JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) reported bad earnings earlier this week, which had investors fearing the worst for Goldman and leaving them jittery as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) reports tomorrow. With the positive news, both JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America were up today — 4.7% and 4.94%, respectively.

2. The IMF announced today that it wants to raise billions of dollars, nearly $500 billion, to better counter the European debt crisis.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) didn’t move much this week, ending up just 62 points, or about 0.5%. The S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC  ) also didn’t see any huge moves but managed to gain 0.88% on the week, while the Nasdaq booked a larger gain of 1.36%.

Biggest losers
Despite the slight advances in all of the major indices this week, there were some companies that weren’t quite so lucky. 
 

Walt Disney was the biggest loser this week of the 30 Dow companies, declining 3.8%. Disney announced a 10-year multiplatform distribution deal with Comcast last week, but some investors have been concerned after Disney’s ESPN subsidiary posted the lowest rating for a college football championship game since 2005.

Coca-Cola was the second biggest loser of the Dow for the week. UBS downgraded both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo from buy to neutral, citing currency trends and a strengthening dollar. UBS said it is also concerned about Coca-Cola’s slowing growth in sales volumes and its high valuation. The company has declined more than 4% on the year.

Chevron also had a rough week, ending down 2% after the company cautioned shareholders that its fourth-quarter earnings could be “significantly below” those from Q3. Chevron released a statement saying, “Lower margins and refinery input volumes, and the absence of an asset sale gain are expected to reduce downstream earnings significantly compared to third quarter results.” Investors will find out just how much Q4 earnings will fall when Chevron releases earnings on Jan. 27.

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