The markets closed the day lower today as investors weighed the news from the Federal Reserve. The central bank decided to leave rates unchanged which was no surprise to the street. The Dow 30 closed lower by 65, the S&P 500 lost 13 and the Nasdaq 100 was lower by 48. Tomorrow the focus will be on Facebook's earnings along with others. In addition, traders will be looking at economic numbers due out throughout the day.
Facebook (NYSE: FB) is the big name reporting earnings after the bell today. Wall Street has really put the pressure on for the social networking giant. Analysts are uniting that they estimate profits to jump 70% from a year ago largely due to strong growth in mobile advertising. Facebook's revenue is expected to climb about 54%. That may sound like a large number but analysts are quick to point out that it is less than last quarter's 59% increase, which was well above expectations. Shares closed down 1.80% ahead of the announcement.
Square (NYSE: SQ) enjoyed a nice 6.50% gain today as the company, run by Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey lifted its revenue outlook for the year. They did this after reporting stronger-than-expected revenue for the third quarter. Sales rose 32% as it "processed more transactions". The company also note that losses had narrowed from a year ago.
Valeant (NYSE: VRX) suffered an 11.48% decline today, but this came after a huge 34% on Tuesday. The volatility lately has been due to news that it's in talks to sell its stomach-drug business, Salix, to Takeda Pharmaceuticals for about $10 billion. The news was celebrated yesterday as the drug maker has been trying to find ways to pay down its heavy debt load.
Alibaba (NASDAQ: BABA) reported stronger than expected earnings and revenue for its fiscal second quarter. Revenue jumped 55% as it "expanded its user base and continued to see growth in its cloud computing business." Shares started higher on the day but were unable to hold the positive gains, closing lower by 2.60%.