By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock opened lower on Friday as a
global rush out of stocks and emerging-markets currencies deepened,
while earnings offered little respite to investors.
Main indexes are headed for weekly losses. The S&P 500 (SPX)
opened 14.54 points, or 0.8%, lower at 1,813.83 and is set to
record its second straight week of losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) began the day by dropping
100 points, or 0.6%, to 16,0799.66 and is headed for a steep weekly
loss.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) opened down 34.92 points, or 0.8%,
at 4,176.35 and on track to record a weekly loss after two weeks of
gains. Over the course of the week, the tech-heavy index has wiped
out most of its early 2014 gains.
Investors began heavily selling stocks and riskier assets such
as emerging-markets currencies on Thursday following weak Chinese
economic data. Main indexes on Wall Street sold off, prompting some
analysts to call it a long-awaited correction.
Adding to the pressure from emerging markets, Argentina on
Friday loosened restrictions on purchases of U.S. dollars after it
devalued the peso.
Investors digested earnings results from several heavyweights in
a day with no U.S. economic data.
Reporting before the bell, Kimberly Clark Corp. (KMB)announced
its fourth-quarter earnings jumped to $539 million, or $1.40 per
share, beating analysts' expectations. Shares in the consumer-goods
company rose 2.7%.
Procter & Gamble Corp.'s (PG) profit fell, but its core
earnings beat expectations. Shares in Procter & Gamble rallied
3%.
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) shares fell 0.7% after the
company's quarterly earnings missed expectations.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) shares rose 1.9% after the
pharmaceutical company reported a better-than-expected rise in
revenue and earnings.
Shares in Care.com (CRCM) jumped 26% on their debut, after the
non-medical-care management company sold shares at $17, the higher
range of its initial offer.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT)(MSFT) bucked a weaker tech tone, up
3.1% after the company beat Wall Street estimates with
fourth-quarter results.
Shares of Starbucks (SBUX) were up 2.1% as the coffee giant
posted a 25% rise in profit, though sales missed Wall Street's
targets.
EBay Inc. (EBAY) fell 1.8% after Carl Icahn said he is ready for
a proxy fight to win two seats on the board of the online
auctioneer, with the intent of pushing eBay to spin off PayPal.
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