This week, investors saw several notable earnings releases and continued volatility in oil prices. Below, we highlight the week ended February 6.

Monday

Before the opening bell on Monday, we saw a couple of big-name earnings releases.

• SYSCO (SYY ) – Reported lower profits, but matched analysts’ view.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM ) – Reported lower results. EPS beat estimates, but revenue fell short.

We saw a solid gain in oil prices, as crude oil rose 2.7% and Brent oil increased 3.2%. The market jumped on Monday, despite disappointing numbers in consumer spending and manufacturing.

The Dow rose 1.1%, the S&P 500 increased 1.3% and the Nasdaq gained 0.9%.

Tuesday

On Tuesday morning, there were a couple of notable earnings releases.

• BP (BP ) – Posted a net loss for the fourth quarter.
• UPS (UPS ) – Reported a drop in profits and higher revenue. Matched analysts’ EPS estimates.

The market saw another positive day as oil prices surged. Crude oil rose 6.7%, closing at $53.05 per barrel.

After hours, Disney (DIS ) posted an impressive quarter, sending shares upwards in after hours trading.

There were also a few big M&A stories on Tuesday, including Staples’ (SPLS ) announcement that it has agreed to acquire Office Depot and JM Smucker’s (SJM ) deal to acquire Big Heart Pet Brands.

The Dow rose 1.8%, the S&P 500 increased 1.4% and the Nasdaq gained 1.1%.

Wednesday

During pre-market trading on Wednesday, there were several notable earnings releases.

• Southern Company (SO ) – Reported higher revenue, but lower earnings. Matched estimates.
• General Motors (GM ) – Reported higher earnings and lower sales. Beat estimates.
• Merck (MRK ) – Posted lower revenue, but higher profits. Beat analysts’ estimates.

Oil prices collapsed, as WTI crude oil fell 9.5% to $48.45 per barrel. There were also concerns regarding the ECB’s refusal to accept Greek bonds as collateral.

After hours, Yum! Brands (YUM ) reported a net loss for the fourth quarter, missing analysts’ estimates.

The Dow rose 0.04%, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq declined 0.2%.

Thursday

On Thursday morning, we saw earnings from a few big names. In addition, the Jobless Claims report indicated a small rise in claims.

• Estee Lauder (EL ) – Reported higher results, but share fell on a weak outlook.
• Dunkin’ Brands (DNKN ) – Posted higher results and boosted its dividend.

In other news, Pfizer (PFE ) announced that it has agreed to acquire Hospira for $17 billion.

The Dow gained 1.20%, the S&P 500 jumped 1.02% and the Nasdaq rose 1.05%.

Friday

We began Friday with a few notable earnings:

• Moody’s (MCO ) – Reported higher Q4 results which beat estimates.
• CBOE Holdings (CBOE ) – Posted higher earnings and revenue. EPS beat estimates, but revenue fell short of expectations.
• Buckeye Partners (BPL ) – Posted higher fourth quarter results.

Next Week

Looking forward to next week, earnings season will continue with reports from Coca-Cola (KO ), PepsiCo (PEP ), Cisco (CSCO ), CVS Health (CVS ) and Hasbro (HAS ). In economic news, monthly retail sales will be released next Thursday.

Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend!

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