Stocks stuck in range as earnings take spotlight

Stocks kept to small ranges ahead of a slew of company results that should offer insights on the state of the global economy.

The S&P 500 edged higher while the Nasdaq 100 was little changed after positive earnings reports from United Airlines Holdings Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.

Netflix Inc., which made its first big move into live events by announcing a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment, is scheduled to release results after the close. Investors will also be watching for results from the Republican presidential primary as voters in New Hampshire head to the polls.

“The fourth-quarter U.S. earnings season is off to a solid start, with over 80% of companies that have reported so far beating profit estimates and forward guidance largely unchanged,” according to Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management. “This bucks the normal trend whereby companies typically guide analysts to lower estimates.”

Equities have broadly shrugged off the Federal Reserve’s warnings that interest-rate cuts are some way off. Instead they have cheered the economy’s resilience even after the most aggressive policy-tightening cycle in decades.

U.S.-listed Chinese shares also gained after Bloomberg News reported Beijing is considering a package of measures to stabilize the falling stock market.

Central banks are in focus this week. While the Bank of Japan held rates steady, Governor Kazuo Ueda said the certainty of achieving its projections has continued to gradually increase.

That language supports the prevailing view among economists that the BOJ will raise rates at some point in the first part of this year.

Investor attention will soon shift to the European Central Bank’s Thursday meeting and whether officials may indicate a start to policy easing.