Today's Market Update with...

William Ferguson, Value Line's Senior Industry Analyst

The final day of trading last week saw investors lock in profits after a week full of mostly positive earnings reports, highlighted by Wal-Mart Stores, Microsoft, and Amazon.com. All told, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109 points to end the week below the 10,000 mark, at 9,972. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 also gave back most of the prior day’s gains, easing by 11 and 13 points, respectively.

The afternoon selloff was fueled by cautious forecasts from the railroads and weak showings from materials and energy stocks, as a rising dollar pushed the price of commodities lower. The price of crude oil fell slightly, ending the session at $80.50 a barrel.

Meanwhile, this week promises to be another hectic period on Wall Street, as several big names are scheduled to release earnings, led by reports from Kellogg Company, Procter & Gamble, and Exxon Mobil.

On the economic front, we await several big reports, including news on consumer confidence (due Tuesday), September new homes sales (Wednesday), and demand for big-ticket manufacturer items. All that comes ahead of the release of third-quarter GDP data on Thursday morning; we continue to look for growth in the range of 3% or more. Overseas markets were up today on signs that Asia’s economy is on the mend, as South Korea reported that its economy grew at its fastest pace in seven years.

With less than one hour until the new trading week commences, the futures points to a modestly higher opening on Wall Street. Will this busy week of earnings reports and economic data make for another seesaw performance for the equities? Stay tuned.