Earnings results are OK so far

Here's what we know after a big week of earnings.

The reports, mostly from financial companies, weren't bad but weren't uniformly great either. There were some notable disappointments, especially from Intel (INTC), Citigroup (C) and American Express (AXP).

Still, the stock market appears to be relatively pleased. The major averages were little changed on Friday but poised to finish modestly higher for a third straight week.

But the market looks a bit toppy, with some important momentum measures signaling the major averages may be  overbought and due for a pullback.

The good news this week came from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and General Electric (GE). All beat estimates and suggested 2013 will be a decent year, thanks to modest U.S. growth. GE specifically cited an economic rebound in China.

Intel disappointed investors by announcing a huge increase in capital spending despite considerable weakness in the personal computer business.

Thomson Reuters said Friday that 62% of the 66 Standard & Poor's 500 companies that have reported fourth-quarter results have beaten Street estimates. That's about average. About 67% have beaten revenue estimates. That's a touch better than expected. So far, revenue growth for S&P 500 companies is about 5.7% over a year ago.

There's a little improvement in terms of preannouncements. So far, 103 S&P 500 companies have warned earnings will disappoint, compared with 32 signalling better-than-expected​ results. That's a ratio of 3.2. That's down from the third-quarter ratio of 3.77 but up from a year ago's ratio of 2.68.

The economic data for the week has been decent. Housing starts jumped to 780,000 units in 2012, the best year since 2008, and many analysts see a strong year in 2013.

If there's concern, it's oil prices, which moved up about 2% this week on worries about Algeria. Crude oil (-CL) in New York finished at $95.56 a barrel.

Despite a great deal of volatility because of the problems of Boeing's (BA) 787 Dreamliner, the stock will finish maybe 0.5% lower for the week.

Markets will be closed Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday. But the week still features a number of important earnings reports.

Top among these: Google (GOOG) on Tuesday; Apple (AAPL) on Wednesday; Microsoft (MSFT) and Starbucks (MSFT) on Thursday; Halliburton (HAL) and Procter & Gamble (PG) on Friday. (Microsoft is the publisher of MSN Money.)

Apple is the report that will command the most attention because of the enormous debate over whether iPhone 5 sales are fabulous or merely good.

Apple shares finished Friday at $500, down $2.68. They closed at $489 on Tuesday, their first close under $500 in nearly a year. The shares were off 3.9% for the week and are off 6.1% in January. They have fallen about 29% since peaking in mid-September.

But Google's report on Tuesday will be scrutinized closely on how its advertising business is doing and if it has much to say about the spread of smartphones using its Android operating system.

It's probable that results from Microsoft will be studied closely on how well its Windows 8 operating system is selling. Early indications are that it has not been as successful as hoped.

For good news, watch Weyerhaeuser (WY) on Friday to see if its results confirm the momentum of the housing recovery.

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Markets for the week
			Jan. 18			Jan. 11			% chg.			YTD chg.
Dow Industrials			13,649.70			13,488.43			1.20%			4.2%
S&P 500			1,485.98			1,472.05			0.95%			4.2%
Nasdaq			3,134.71			3,125.63			0.29%			3.8%
Russell 2000			892.80			880.77			1.37%			5.1%
Crude oil			$95.56			$93.56			2.14%			4.1%
(per barrel)
U.S. Dollar Index			80.12			79.61			0.3%			0.3%
10-yr. Treasury yield			1.84%			1.88%			-2.3%			5.0%
Gold			$1,687.00			$1,660.60			1.4%			0.7%
(per troy ounce)