The week started off with a bang with IBM (NYSE: IBM) blowing out their 4th quarter earnings numbers posting an EPS of $4.18 per share compared to an average forecast of $4.08 per share. The week also saw solid earnings out of Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS: AAPL) and Google Inc. (NasdaqGS: GOOG) however, this must of been the case where the earnings were already priced into the stock prices for these particular equities sold off this week and took the Nasdaq down with them.

A mixed bag with the banks as well, on one hand you had JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) report a very impressive quarter but on the other hand you had Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) reporting a significant loss. So what does all this mean for the markets and where do we go from here? Well to me its seems like we are going to be in very choppy waters over the coming months awaiting the next catalyst(s) to guide the direction of the markets. The Nasdaq appears to be in the first leg of a modest correction and the Dow and S&P 500 continue to be supported by the broader results of this earnings reporting season.

Let’s see what next week has in store and until then have a great weekend.

~George