Market looks to JPMorgan earnings for direction

The stock market in the second week of January moved after reports of earnings from major companies.  The S&P 500 ended six straight sessions of gains and dropped for the first time in this year on Tuesday after disappointing Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) earnings.  It closed at 1136.22, down 7.59 points for the day.

On Thursday, the stock market shook off disappointing economic data released in the morning trading session and rallied for a gain as investors anticipated Intel earnings that would beat analysts' expectations.  Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC) reported earnings of $0.40 per share after the market closed, beating a consensus estimate.  Intel shares rose 2.34% during market hours in anticipation of the favorable earnings result, and continued to gain in after-hours trading.

JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said in testimony before Congress yesterday that JP Morgan is a safe haven for depositors and did not post a quarterly loss throughout the financial crisis.  It did not need TARP funds from the federal government, but accepted them as a sign of support for the government's actions to strengthen the economy. 

He did, however, acknowledge that the acquisition of both Washington Mutual assets and Bear Stearns in 2008 still carries substantial risk for the firm. 

JPMorgan will be the first major bank to report its earnings in 2010.  It is one of the Big Four banks in the United States, and has the third largest deposit base, behind Wells Fargo and Bank of America.  It is also the largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization.

Correction:

An article on January 14, 2009 incorrectly stated that JPMorgan Chase & Co would release its fourth quarter earnings results at 9:00 a.m. EST. The company was set to release its results at 7:00 a.m. EST and hold a conference call with analysts at 9:00 a.m. EST.