Major US stock indexes finished trading almost unchanged, as investors are cautious before the release of reports of major US companies.

This week, several large US companies, including Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), should publicize their financial results for the second quarter of 2017. IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), General Electric (GE), etc. Analysts polled by FactSet believe that S & P500 companies completed the second quarter with higher profits. Although this growth probably slowed slightly compared to the first quarter, when companies published the best results from 2011, positive signs in many sectors should support the growth of shares in the second half of the year.

A small influence on the dynamics of trading was provided by statistical data for the United States. The results of the studies published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that the region's production index fell significantly in June, and was worse than the average forecasts of economists. According to the data, the production index in the current month fell to +9.8 points compared to +19.0 points in June. The previous value was not revised. Economists had expected the deterioration of the index only to +15.0 points.

Most components of the DOW index recorded a decline (16 out of 30). Outsider were the shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM, -1.02%). The maximum increase was shown in the shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (HD, + 0.81%).

Most sectors of the S & P index ended the session in positive territory. The conglomerate sector grew most (+ 0.4%). The health sector showed the greatest decline (-0.3%).

At closing:

DJIA -0.03% 21.631.74 -6.00

Nasdaq + 0.03% 6,314.43 +1.96

S & P -0.00% 2,459.16 -0.11

U.S. stock-index futures were flat as investors stood on the sidelines ahead of a busy earnings week from big U.S. companies.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei -

Hang Seng 26,470.58 +81.35 +0.31%

Shanghai 3,176.50 -45.92 -1.42%

S&P/ASX 5,755.47 -9.65 -0.17%

FTSE 7,416.66 +38.27 +0.52%

CAC 5,233.89 -1.42 -0.03%

DAX 12,591.52 -40.20 -0.32%

Crude $46.53 (-0.02%)

Gold $1,232.80 (+0.43%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Yandex N.V. (YNDX) downgraded to Hold from Buy at VTB Capital

General Electric (GE) resumed with an Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; target $27

July 18

Before the Open:

Bank of America (BAC). Consensus EPS $0.44, Consensus Revenues $21838.01 mln.

Goldman Sachs (GS). Consensus EPS $3.39, Consensus Revenues $7474.50 mln.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Consensus EPS $1.79, Consensus Revenues $18951.74 mln.

UnitedHealth (UNH). Consensus EPS $2.38, Consensus Revenues $50065.82 mln.

After the Close:

IBM (IBM). Consensus EPS $2.75, Consensus Revenues $19450.87 mln.

July 19

Before the Open:

Morgan Stanley (MS). Consensus EPS $0.78, Consensus Revenues $9052.06 mln.

After the Close:

Alcoa (AA). Consensus EPS $0.58, Consensus Revenues $2862.57 mln.

American Express (AXP). Consensus EPS $1.43, Consensus Revenues $8193.66 mln.

July 20

Before the Open:

Travelers (TRV). Consensus EPS $2.16, Consensus Revenues $6377.50 mln.

After the Close:

Microsoft (MSFT). Consensus EPS $0.71, Consensus Revenues $24292.83 mln.

Visa (V). Consensus EPS $0.81, Consensus Revenues $4358.23 mln.

July 21

Before the Open:

General Electric (GE). Consensus EPS $0.25, Consensus Revenues $29084.51 mln.

Honeywell (HON). Consensus EPS $1.77, Consensus Revenues $9880.21 mln.

European stock markets largely finished lower Friday, with bank shares taking a hit after their U.S. peers kicked off a new earnings season, but regional equities on the whole marked their best weekly performance in more than two months.

Chinese equity markets tumbled shortly after trading began on Monday, dragged down by a plunge in small-cap stocks after an injection of liquidity by the nation's central bank spooked investors. On Monday, the People's Bank of Bank pumped a net 140 billion yuan ($20.68 billion) to the interbank market, the biggest such injection since June 6, ahead of a key data release, sending investors rushing to reposition their portfolios.

U.S. stocks closed higher Friday to score fresh records, following a mixed batch of corporate bank results and poor data on retail-sales and inflation, which led market participants to believe the Federal Reserve is firmly back in a dovish frame of mind.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei +19.05 20118.86 +0.09%

TOPIX +6.37 1625.48 +0.39%

Hang Seng +43.06 26389.23 +0.16%

CSI 300 +16.17 3703.09 +0.44%

Euro Stoxx 50 -1.89 3525.94 -0.05%

FTSE 100 -35.05 7378.39 -0.47%

DAX -9.61 12631.72 -0.08%

CAC 40 -0.09 5235.31 +0.00%

DJIA +84.65 21637.74 +0.39%

S&P 500 +11.44 2459.27 +0.47%

NASDAQ +38.03 6312.47 +0.61%

S&P/TSX +39.81 15174.81 +0.26%