Stocks set to dip amid earnings, Europe

By Reuters

Stocks are set to dip Friday, indicating the S&P 500 may snap a three-day win streak after Google results fell short of expectations and as investors eyed Greek debt talks for signs of progress.

Google Inc shares slumped 7.6 percent to $591 in premarket trading after quarterly profit and revenue for the No. 1 Internet search engine missed Wall Street expectations on declining search advertising rates.

Greece and its private bondholders inched closer to reaching a long-awaited debt swap deal that would prevent the nation from spiraling toward bankruptcy and ratchet up fears about the euro zone's economic stability.

General Electric Co fell 3.3 percent to $18.52 after the largest U.S. conglomerate reported roughly flat profit from continuing operations.

But a strong outlook from International Business Machines Corp and decent results from Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp indicated corporate leaders were shaking off nervousness about economic growth and boosting spending on technology.

Microsoft shares were up 2.1 percent to $28.70, and Intel edged up 0.2 percent to $25.69 premarket. IBM gained 2.4 percent to $184.92 in light premarket trade.

European shares slipped 0.3 percent early Friday after hitting 5-1/2 month highs in the previous session as major indexes neared "overbought" territory. Asian shares rose to fresh two-month highs as solid euro zone sovereign debt sales.

Economic data on existing home sales was due from the National Association of Realtors for December at 10 a.m. ET. Economists forecast a 4.65 million annual rate in December, versus 4.42 million in November.

Chinese factory activity likely fell for a third successive month in January, an early indicator showed, suggesting Beijing's pro-growth policies will remain in place despite early signs a downward drift was slowing.

U.S. stocks rose Thursday, sparked by results from Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley and as the latest jobless claims dropped to a near four-year low.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10198316-stocks-set-to-dip-amid-earnings-europe

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