Weekly Market Wrap: 7/23/10
Friday, July 23, 5:13 PM ET

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Hi. I’m SAYOKO MURASE. Welcome to the “Weekly Market Wrap” for Friday, July 23, 2010.

US Equity markets closed higher for the week.

Crude oil futures surged higher for the week, trading just under $79 a barrel on Friday afternoon.

Gold futures were slightly higher for the week, selling for $1,192 an ounce on Friday afternoon.

On the economic front, housing starts came out on Tuesday disappointing investors with a 549,000 annualized rate for June. Analysts were expecting a 580,000 annual rate.

Existing home sales for June came in at an annualized rate of 5.37 million on Thursday, down sharply from the 5.66 million sales rate reported for May. Observers were expecting a 5.26 million sales number.

Also on Thursday, the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators index met the consensus estimate of a 0.2 percent loss.

President Obama signed a far-reaching financial reform bill on Thursday. The bill has already created unintended consequences with ratings agencies S&P, Moody's, and Fitch refusing to let bond issuers use their ratings pending a review of legal exposure caused by enactment of the law. The new law makes firms liable for the quality of their ratings, effective immediately. The bond market shut down on Thursday, at least temporarily, as a result of the new law. Ford (F) was forced to cancel plans to issue new debt yesterday.

Earnings season was in full swing this week with over 500 companies reporting second quarter earnings.

IBM (NYSE:IBM) posted profits of $2.61 per share after the market close on Monday, beating the consensus by 3 cents. Analysts were expecting $2.58 per share.

On Tuesday, Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) reported 71 cents per share in second quarter earnings and beating the street by 5 cents.

Also on Tuesday, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported earnings per share of $3.51, soundly beating analyst estimates of $2.84.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) beat forecasts by 24 cents on Tuesday, reporting 99 cents per share in earnings. Analysts were expecting 73 cents per share.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reported profits on Wednesday of 80 cents per share. The consensus estimate was 74 cents.

On Thursday, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted 51 cents per share in profits. Analysts were expecting 46 cents per share for the second quarter.

This is the “Weekly Market Wrap” for Friday, July 23. Please join us on Monday for the “Week Ahead Market Report.”

For MarketNewsVideo.com, I'm SAYOKO MURASE.