Stocks Mixed on Sluggish US Retail Sales News

Earnings Overview - More than half of the S&P 500 companies have reported Q4 earnings, with 79% of the 297 companies beating expectations [1] - S&P earnings growth is projected to increase by +8.4% in Q4, marking the tenth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth [1] - Excluding the Magnificent Seven technology stocks, Q4 earnings are expected to rise by +4.6% [1] Economic Indicators - January nonfarm payrolls are expected to increase by +69,000, with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.4% [2] - Average hourly earnings for January are anticipated to rise by +0.3% month-over-month and +3.7% year-over-year [2] - Initial weekly unemployment claims are projected to decrease by -7,000 to 224,000 [2] - Existing home sales for January are expected to decline by -3.5% month-over-month to 4.20 million [2] - January CPI is forecasted to increase by +2.5% year-over-year, with core CPI also expected to rise by +2.5% [2] Retail Sales and Employment Costs - US December retail sales were unchanged month-over-month, falling short of expectations of +0.4% [3] - Retail sales excluding autos also remained unchanged, again below the +0.4% expectation [3] - The Q4 employment cost index rose by +0.7% quarter-over-quarter, which is the smallest increase in 4.5 years and below the expected +0.8% [3] Stock Market Performance - The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new all-time high, while stock indexes are mixed overall [4] - The broader market received support from weaker-than-expected retail sales and employment cost index reports, leading to lower bond yields [4] - The 10-year T-note yield fell to a 3-week low of 4.15% [4] Company-Specific Movements - Ichor Holdings Ltd (ICHR) shares increased by more than +31% after forecasting Q1 adjusted EPS of 8 to 16 cents, exceeding the consensus of 6.1 cents [10] - Spotify (SPOT) rose by more than +15% after reporting 38 million monthly active users in Q4, surpassing the consensus of 32 million [10] - Datadog (DDOG) shares increased by more than +14% after reporting Q4 revenue of $953.2 million, above the consensus of $917.2 million [10] - Marriott International (MAR) shares rose by more than +8% after forecasting 2026 adjusted EPS of $11.32 to $11.57, above the consensus of $11.42 [11] - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (GT) shares fell by more than -13% after reporting Q4 adjusted EPS of 39 cents, below the consensus of 49 cents [12]