Daily Data Flow: Markets Fall; Consumers Boost Growth

Most U.S. Stocks Fall as Investors Monitor Economic Data (Bloomberg)
Most U.S. stocks retreated, driving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a weekly decline, as investors watched economic and corporate earnings reports. Eight stocks declined for every five that advanced on U.S. exchanges at 4 p.m. New York time. You’re getting a mix of data that don’t have a clear direction,” said Stephen Wood, the New York-based chief market strategist for North America for Russell Investments, which oversees $152 billion. “It’s important for investors’ psychology to see GDP data beating estimates. Yet the earnings season has been a very challenging one.”

Market Outlook: Investors Bracing for More Than One Big Storm (CNBC)
Markets will navigate another big wave of third-quarter earnings in the week ahead, plus some major economic reports — and, most importantly, the October jobs report. But nature also may play a role, with a late-season hurricane threatening the East Coast along the Washington-New York corridor. As of Friday, more than half the S&P 500 companies had reported, and earnings are estimated to be down 1.2% for the quarter, the first negative quarter in three years, according to Thomson Reuters.

Consumers Boost Growth Despite Business Caution (Reuters)
Economic growth accelerated in the third quarter as stepped-up purchases by consumers and a surprise turnaround in government spending offset the first cutback in business investment in more than a year. The stronger pace of expansion, however, fell short of what is needed to make much of a dent in unemployment, and offers little cheer for the White House ahead of the closely contested Nov. 6 presidential election.