Stocks are mixed at midday, as better than expected results from Coke are helping the Dow and the Nasdaq is slightly lower. The focus of the market is largely on earnings as the volume of corporate reports picks up, but on the macro front the International Monetary Fund lowered its global growth forecast slightly, citing the ongoing trade fight between the U.S. and China.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., existing home sales fell 1.7% in June to a disappointing 5.27M pace. The Richmond Fed manufacturing index dropped 14 points to -12 in July.
Additionally, the IMF announced that its global growth forecast is 3.2% in 2019, picking up to 3.5% in 2020, both of which are 0.1 percentage point lower than in the April WEO projections. The IMF stated: "Global growth remains subdued. Since the April World Economic Outlook report, the United States further increased tariffs on certain Chinese imports and China retaliated by raising tariffs on a subset of US imports. Additional escalation was averted following the June G20 summit. Global technology supply chains were threatened by the prospect of US sanctions, Brexit-related uncertainty continued, and rising geopolitical tensions roiled energy prices."
TOP NEWS: Three Dow members reported earnings this morning, one of which is the leader on the upside and another of which is the blue chip index laggard. Coca-Cola (KO) shares have jumped 6% following the better than expected results and guidance raise from the beverage giant, while Travelers (TRV) is down 2% following the insurance company's report. United Technologies (UTX), the other member of the reporting trio, is little changed despite an earnings beat and guidance raise.
Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) have slipped 3% following a media report saying Apple (AAPL) is in advanced talks to acquire Intel's (INTC) smartphone modem chip business for about $1B. Commenting on the news, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said he views the deal as a "smart strategic move," and sees the weakness in Qualcomm's shares as justified as such a purchase would increase the likelihood a portion of Apple iPhones ship with 4G modems in 2020, and would weigh on future Qualcomm revenues.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Realogy (RLGY), which rose 16% after it launched TurnKey in collaboration with Amazon (AMZN). Also higher were AutoNation (AN) and Hasbro (HAS), which gained a respective 12% and 9% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD), which fell 15% after reporting that its Phase 3 ENHANCE study did not achieve statistical significance. Also lower were Whirlpool (WHR) and Tile Shop (TTS), which declined 6% and 18%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 39.38, or 0.14%, to 27,211.28, the Nasdaq was down 1.96, or 0.02%, to 8,202.18, and the S&P 500 was up 5.86, or 0.20%, to 2,990.89.
