On the upside
Capping off a record year, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) as well as Chevron (NYSE: CVX) posted lower 4th quarter revenues and profits that handily beat expectations.An analyst upgraded Discover Communications (NYSE: DISCA) which operates a number of popular cable channels.
Shares of Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) opened sharply higher after the online retailer reported 4th quarter profits that surpassed expectations late yesterday.
On the downside
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) announced more job cuts as the heavy equipment maker scaled back production to reflect lower global demand.Shares of Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR) fell after the network equipment maker reported higher profits on lower revenues. Analysts promptly downgraded the stock.
Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN) lowered its revenue outlook for the most recent quarter by 30 to 40% while reducing its headcount by 25%. Shares of the irrigation systems maker immediately tumbled.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin
of 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by 4 to 3 on Nasdaq. The
Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped a fraction to 452.
