Weak results from several United States companies helped tug the stock market down slightly on Friday, putting major indexes on course for their first weekly loss this month, The Associated Press reported .
Many traders are also looking ahead to a packed schedule of events next week, including a Federal Reserve meeting and the government's monthly employment report.
"There's just a deluge of market-moving events next week," the Chief Market Strategist, LPL Financial, Jeffrey Kleintop said "Traders seem to be erring on the side of caution today."
Expedia plunged 26 per cent, the worst fall in the Standard& Poor's 500 index. The online travel agency reported earnings late Thursday that badly missed analysts' expectations. Higher costs were the main culprit. Expedia lost $17.09 to $47.91.
A half-hour before the closing bell, the Standard & Poor's 500 index was down two points, or 0.1 per cent, to 1,688.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 16 points, less than 0.1 per cent, to 15,539. The Nasdaq composite index edged up two points to 3,608.
Before the market opened, Newmont Mining turned in a quarterly loss, largely a result of slumping prices for copper and gold. Analysts had predicted a slight profit. Newmont's stock fell 30 cents, or 1 per cent, to $30.33.
Starbucks posted results late Thursday that beat analysts' estimates. Lower costs for coffee beans and better sales of salads and sandwiches helped. Starbucks jumped $5.09, or seven per cent, to $73.26.
It's halftime in the second-quarter earnings season, and corporate profits are shaping up better than some had feared.
Analysts forecast that earnings for companies in the S&P 500 increased 4.5 per cent over the same period in 2012, according to S&P Capital IQ. At the start of July, they predicted earnings would rise 2.8 per cent. Nearly seven out of every 10 companies have surpassed Wall Street's profit targets.
