YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Equities showed indecision in the early going after Apple (AAPL 604.00, -5.54) and Amazon (AMZN 238.24, +15.32) delivered disappointing results, while the first reading of the third quarter GDP was reported ahead of expectations. The S&P 500 followed the early choppiness with a late-morning slide into the red. After reaching session lows near 1,403, the index reversed and headed for fresh highs. However, the benchmark average could not hold its best level of the day and settled lower by 0.1%.

The advance GDP reading for the third quarter suggested the economy grew at a 2.0% rate in the second quarter when an increase of 1.9% had been expected among economists polled by Briefing.com. The slight beat comes as government spending contributed 0.7% to the number. The third quarter chain deflator reportedly increased by 2.8%, which was ahead of the 2.0% increase that had been broadly anticipated.

Technology stocks were in the spotlight as the market reacted to earnings from major sector components. Apple shed 0.9% after reporting mixed results. During the fourth quarter, the tech giant earned $8.67 which was $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ consensus estimate. Meanwhile, the company's revenue of $35.97 billion was in-line with expectations. The gross margin guidance, however, was a point of concern as the company expects the number to be near 36.0% in the first quarter, versus the 40.0% expected by analysts. Also note that the company lowered its earnings and revenue guidance below consensus.

Amazon gained 6.9% after reporting its earnings. The online retailer lost $0.23 per share. However, the number may not be comparable to the Capital IQ consensus estimate which forecast a loss of $0.10. The company's revenue of $13.81 billion was largely in-line with expectations, but management issued downside fourth quarter guidance.

Comcast (CMCSA 37.56, +1.20) advanced 3.3% after beating on earnings and revenues. The management commented on the reporting period by saying, "The third quarter continues our momentum. Cable's results show real strength in every part of the business, producing sustainable and profitable growth while we expand our product offerings, deliver more innovation and continue to transform the customer experience."

NetSuite (N 65.40, +8.49) surged 14.9% after the maker of ERP software reported earnings of $0.08 on $79.8 million in revenue. Both numbers came in ahead of the Capital IQ consensus estimates.

Coal stocks were broadly higher after Arch Coal (ACI 8.09, +0.78) and Cloud Peak Energy (CLD 21.20, +2.21) beat on earnings and revenues. During the third quarter, Arch Coal earned $0.20, which was $0.35 ahead of the Capital IQ consensus estimate. In addition, the company's revenue of $1.09 billion was also ahead of expectations. ACI settled higher by 10.7% in reaction to earnings.

Meanwhile, Cloud Peak Energy reported earnings of $0.80, which was $0.32 ahead of the Capital IQ consensus estimate. The company's revenue of $425.9 million was well ahead of the $393.57 million expected by the Capital IQ consensus. Cloud Peak stock surged 11.6%.

Arch Coal and Cloud Peak posted notable gains, and other coal stocks moved higher as well. Alpha Natural Resources (ANR 8.71, +0.28) and James River Coal (JRCC 5.09, +0.29) saw respective gains of 3.3% and 6.0%.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average outperformed the broader market, and added 0.3%. Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD 36.43, +0.65) was the top performer among transportation stocks. The delivery service provider advanced 1.8% after Goldman upgraded the stock to ‘conviction buy' from ‘sell' with a $42 price target.

Railroads also outperformed. Kansas City Southern (KSU 81.25, +1.22) rose by 1.5%, while Norfolk Southern (NSC 62.77, +0.20) and Union Pacific (UNP 123.61, +1.97) gained 0.3% and 1.6%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG 1.23, -0.09) was the biggest laggard. The oil tanker shipper dipped 6.8% to continue its recent weakness.

Homebuilder stocks saw general weakness and the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 25.52, -0.10) settled lower by 0.4%. Among individual builders, Standard Pacific (SPF 6.90, -0.85) slid 11.0% after announcing disappointing quarterly results. During the third quarter, Standard Pacific earned $0.05, which was $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ consensus estimates. The company's revenue of $318.5 million also fell short of the $385.02 million expected by analysts. Peers DR Horton (DHI 20.76, -0.35), Lennar (LEN 37.02, -0.49), and Ryland Group (RYL 33.76, -0.30) all lost between 0.9% and 1.7% in sympathy.

The University of Michigan's final Consumer Sentiment Survey for October rose to 82.6 from the 83.1 that was posted in the preliminary Survey. Many had expected the reading to go unrevised.

Weekly Recap: Stocks Stumble Amid Disappointing Earnings

On Monday, stocks got off to a quiet start as mixed quarterly reports continued to pour in. Indecision was apparent in the early going as the major averages traded near their respective unchanged levels. As the day progressed, the S&P 500 and Dow headed lower. However, the final hour brought out bargain-hunters who lifted the major averages near their respective session highs. As a result, the S&P 500 ended unchanged. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq outperformed and settled higher by 0.4%. Caterpillar (CAT 84.25, +0.72) advanced 1.5% after reporting mixed earnings.

Tuesday's session started with an opening sell-off as disappointing earnings combined with Moody's downgrade of five Spanish regions fueled the bearish sentiment. Stocks reached session lows during the first hour before attempting to rebound. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed intraday resilience, but the attempt to reclaim its early losses was cut short when late-day selling sent the index back near the middle of its range. As a result the Nasdaq ended lower by 0.9% while S&P 500 lost 1.4%. Stocks in the materials space saw the biggest weakness. Among steel producers, AK Steel (AKS 5.19, -0.02) fell 5.8% despite beating on earnings and reporting revenues in-line with the Capital IQ consensus.

On Wednesday, stocks began the session on an upbeat note, but the bullish sentiment was dispelled in the opening minutes. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq marked their respective highs minutes into the trading day, before sliding back towards the unchanged level. The Dow, however, held its gains a bit longer before recoupling with the other two indices. This afternoon's statement from the Federal Open Market Committee was met with mostly muted reaction, and the S&P 500 finished lower by 0.3%. Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD 75.87, +1.05) fell 10.5% after missing on both earnings and revenues.

Crude oil chopped around in negative territory for most of its pit session. It dipped to a session low of $85.54 per barrel in morning action. However, buyers stepped in heading into the close and pushed prices back into positive territory where they settled at $86.24 per barrel. Despite today's slight gain, the energy component booked a 4.6% loss for the week as action in the dollar index, weakness in the broader market, and bearish inventory data put pressure on prices in previous sessions.

Natural gas spent its entire floor session in the red. It touched a session low of $3.36 per MMBtu in morning action and eventually settled at $3.40 per MMBtu, or just below its session high of $3.41 per MMBtu. The third consecutive session of losses left natural gas to close the week with a 6.1% loss.

Precious metals got a boost during today's pit trade from a stronger than expected GDP number. Both gold and silver bounced off their respective session lows of $1704.10 per ounce and $31.75 per ounce set in early morning action and advanced into positive territory. However, they pulled-back heading into the close and settled just below the break-even level. Gold booked a 0.7% loss for the week as it finished at $1711.60 per ounce, while silver closed at $32.03 per ounce, or 0.2% below last Friday's closing price.

Thursday's session began with a bullish bias which failed to hold past the opening minutes. After opening near session highs, the S&P 500 spent the first hour in a steady decline towards the flat line. Once that level was reached, the index spent the remainder of the day trapped in a narrow range before ending with a slim gain of 0.3%. Casino stocks saw broad strength after Wynn Resorts (WYNN 118.97, -1.46) delivered strong third quarter results and surged 7.3%.DJ30 +3.53 NASDAQ +1.83 SP500 -1.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1032/1.74 bln/1408 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1219/738.3 mln/1767