If Big Blue Can't Ease The Markets, No One Can

On any typical day on Wall Street, a preannouncement by IBM (IBM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) of strong profit in the third quarter and a reaffirmation of its earnings outlook for the rest of the year, would send stocks soaring.

But even Big Blue couldn't stop the negative momentum that sunk stocks to a five-year low last week. And as earnings get into full swing this week, investors will likely ignore any sign of good news as long as the market is engaged in a downward spiral.

This week, a number of heavy-hitters will announce quarterly results including Intel Corp. (INTC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Google Inc. (GOOG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating).

Intel is expected to release results on Tuesday after the market close. Shares of the world's largest chipmaker are trading at a five-year low amid fears that declining PC demand will mean lower demand for its semiconductors. Intel is expected to report earnings per share of $0.34, up from $0.31, a year earlier, according to Reuters Estimates.

Intel slightly favors a narrowing pattern following after-hours earnings events, cutting back its evening trade in next-day action in 11 of its last 18 earnings events. In the near-term, the stock has narrowed its move in all of the past four quarters so it may be a good stock for shorts to line up if it should post an earnings-driven after-hours upside move. On July 15, Intel shares rose 1.1% in the after-hours after the company's reported second-quarter results that beat the Street. The stock narrowed its gain slightly the following regular session, ending up 1.0%.

Google is set to report its results after the close of trade on Thursday. The owner of the world's most popular search engine is expected to report third-quarter earnings per share of $4.81, up from $3.91, a year earlier. Google leans toward a narrowing pattern between the sessions in its long-term performance, cutting back its post-earnings evening share direction in next-day trade in nine of the last 15 quarterly reports.

In the near-term, the stock is mixed, narrowing twice and twice extending its evening share move during the next day's session. On July 17, the stocks tumbled 7.6% in after-hours trading after Google's second-quarter earnings missed the Street. Shares extended their decline in the following regular session, ending down 9.8%.

Cassie Slane is a Senior Editor at www.MidnightTrader.com.