On Monday morning, we saw several big-name earnings releases. The most important releases for dividend investors included:

• Morgan Stanley (MS ) – Reported higher Q1 results, and beat analysts’ estimates.
• Hasbro (HAS ) – Reported lower EPS, but higher sales. Beat analysts’ expectations.
• Halliburton (HAL ) – Posted a net loss for the first quarter, but beat analysts’ views.

The markets ended in the positive on Monday, due to upbeat earnings results and reports of China’s stimulus measures that are expected to improve its economy.

After hours, International Business Machines (IBM ) reported better-than-expected EPS results, but missed revenue expectations.

The Dow gained 1.2%, the S&P increased 0.9% and the Nasdaq rose 1.3%.

Before Tuesday’s opening bell, there was another big group of notable earnings releases.

• Verizon (VZ ) – Reported lower profits, but higher revenue. Beat analysts’ views.
• Lockheed Martin (LMT ) – Posted lower results for the quarter. EPS beat estimates, but revenue fell short.
• United Technologies (UTX ) – Reported higher EPS that beat estimates.
• DuPont (DD ) – Posted lower results for the quarter. EPS beat estimates. while revenue fell short.
• Kimberly-Clark (KMB ) – Reported lower Q1 results. Missed EPS estimates.

The Dow dropped 0.5%, the S&P fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq rose 0.4%.

On Wednesday morning, the earnings releases continued:

• Boeing (BA ) – Reported higher Q1 results. Beat EPS estimates.
• Coca-Cola (KO ) – Reported lower profits, but beat estimates.
• McDonald’s (MCD ) – Posted lower EPS and missed analysts’ view.
• Bank of New York Mellon (BK ) – Reported higher quarterly results and beat estimates.

Existing home sales for March jumped 6.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million. This marked the biggest increase in sales since December 2011.

After hours, QUALCOMM (QCOM ) and AT&T (T ) reported quarterly earnings, both posting higher-than-expected results.

The Dow rose 0.5%, the S&P increased 0.5% and the Nasdaq rose 0.4%.

Thursday’s premarket presented yet another group of mixed earnings releases for the quarter.

• Procter & Gamble (PG ) – Posted lower Q3 results and missed analysts’ estimates.
• PepsiCo (PEP ) – Reported higher profits and revenue, which beat estimates.
• 3M (MMM ) – Earnings and revenue declined, and missed estimates.
• Altria (MO ) – Reported higher revenue, but lower EPS. Beats estimates.
• Eli Lilly (LLY ) – Posted lower Q1 results. EPS beat estimates, while revenue fell short.

On Thursday morning, we saw a drop in new home sales – as sales in March fell 11.4%. Weekly jobless claims increased for the third consecutive week. Claims increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 295,000.

After hours, Microsoft (MSFT ) reported lower profits, but beat analysts’ expectations.

The Dow rose 0.1%, the S&P increased 0.2% and the Nasdaq rose 0.4%.

Before the opening bell on Friday, the largest owner of malls Simon Property Group (SPG ) reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter. The REIT also announced that it has raised its dividend by 15%.

In economic news, durable goods orders for March increased by 4%, but indicated that company spending has continued to decline.

Next week, earnings season will continue with results from tech giant Apple {dividend aapl %}. While the focus will be on Apple’s earnings, we will also see results from Pfizer (PFE ), Merck (MRK ), UPS (UPS ), Kraft (KRFT ), Ford Motor Company (F ) and Exxon (XOM ).

In economic news, we will see the consumer confidence report on Tuesday, GDP on Wednesday and jobless claims on Thursday.

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