S&P Sees Longest Winning Streak in Almost 6 Weeks; Tech Stocks Report Earnings

The S&P 500 hit a five-day high midday on Tuesday after recent optimism for the global economy. Stocks were also trading higher ahead of tomorrow’s meeting among the House of Representatives for a vote on an extension of the US debt limit. The materials sector was led by Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), who beat expectations on Tuesday after reporting a Q4 profit that was 16% higher. Aside from this positive sentiment, disappointing news came from the housing industry after home sales reportedly dropped in December by 1%. Investors hope that this data does not cancel out recent momentum the sector has found over the past year or so. After the bell numerous tech stocks released earnings – Google (GOOG) was trading 4% higher due to announcing a Q4 profit of $2.89 billion and IBM (IBM) saw shares gain 3.8% despite reporting a 1% drop in revenue.

Word on the Street

• As supply shrinks, US existing home sales unexpectedly fall underscoring recent industry success.
• Global unemployment reaches 197 million, an increase of 4 million during the last year.
• Google (GOOG) reports a Q4 profit that sends shares surging over 4% after hours.
• Natural-gas producers Chesapeake (CHK) and Southwestern (SWN) see big gains on Tuesday.
• Investor confidence in Germany hits a two-and-a-half year high in January.
• Boeing (BA) Dreamliner Dreams Go Up in a Puff of Smoke.
• CA Inc. (CA) sees a drop in its fiscal Q3 earnings of 5%.

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