The political turmoil in Iran turned the mood from positive to negative going into the week and that seems to be coloring people's interpretation of the earnings. My sense with Apple is that in the current mood of the market, no news would have been good enough to support the stock.
We've gotten good reports from a variety of companies, supporting the thesis that corporate earnings are going to increase in the double digits this year.
The hopes that you're going to have strong corporate earnings fuel the market to rally further are significantly damaged by the reports we've had so far.
I think people feel comfortable that we're near the end of the interest rate (raising) cycle.
So far the corporate profit outlook remains positive. I don't hear a lot of companies saying they're going to reduce their profit forecasts because of interest-rate concerns, and that's a positive for the market.
There's a huge amount of activity that is controlled by hedge funds, and they're trying to find some performance after a bad last year.
We're not seeing anybody really beating earnings estimates and that certainly is pouring cold water on any enthusiasm for an earnings-driven surprise rally.
