Stock Market Today: P&G Earnings Headline Quiet Day for Stocks
While the major indexes failed to make big moves today, consumer staples giant Procter & Gamble popped after earnings.


It was a quiet end to a wishy-washy week, with stocks struggling for direction following a mixed bag of earnings reports.
Today's price action just echoed what we've seen over the past five sessions as investors look ahead to the next Fed meeting. But while the major indexes failed to make a big move, several individual stocks did – including blue chip stock Procter & Gamble (PG).
Ahead of the bell, Cincinnati-based consumer products maker Procter & Gamble reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $1.37 per share on revenue of $20.1 billion, beating analysts' estimates. The company also said that it raised prices across all of its divisions by an average of 10% over the three-month period. PG stock popped 3.5% today.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"What was interesting about P&G results was that volumes were actually down and major price increases were driving both top and bottom line, demonstrating strong pricing power and a reflection of continuing inflation," says Louis Navellier, chairman and founder of Navellier & Associates.
Elsewhere, energy stock SLB (SLB) slumped 4.2% after the oil and gas equipment company formerly known as Schlumberger reported earnings. In its first quarter, SLB reported higher-than-expected earnings of 63 cents per share and revenue of $7.7 billion, but cash flow from operations ($330 million) missed the mark.
On the economic front, S&P Global said its U.S. service sector purchasing managers index (PMI) climbed to 53.7 in April from March's 52.6. Its manufacturing sector PMI improved to 50.4 from 49.2. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
"This morning's manufacturing and services data offered more surprises amidst mixed messages concerning the economy," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. "At a time when investors are concerned about recession, inflation, and the Federal Reserve, both the manufacturing and services sectors experienced sharp upticks in activity during April."
At the close, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1% at 12,072, the S&P 500 was 0.1% higher at 4,133, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.1% to 33,808. All three indexes closed slightly lower on a weekly basis.
Big Tech earnings on deck
"So far, earnings season is off to an uneventful start, with many companies meeting already reduced earnings expectations and that helps to explain the lack of movement in the major stock indices over the past few days," says Carol Schleif, chief investment officer at BMO Family Office, a wealth consulting firm based out of Minneapolis.
While most of Wall Street's attention thus far has been focused on big financial firms and regional banks, it will soon shift to tech earnings. Included on next week's earnings calendar are Big Tech companies Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL), as well as several communication services stocks like Meta Platforms (META) and Snap (SNAP). "While tech companies have been diligent about cutting costs in recent months, investors will want to see confirmation that those cost and job cuts are enough to keep their profit margins and revenues moving along at a reasonable pace and direction," Schleif says.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Stocks Can't Hold Meta, Microsoft Gains: Stock Market Today
The main indexes all opened higher Thursday on impressive Big Tech earnings, but momentum faded into the close.
-
Retirement Health Care Costs Are On the Rise: What You Need to Know
A 65-year-old retiree will face significantly higher lifetime health care costs than they would have a year ago, even with Medicare. Here are the surprising totals.
-
Stocks Can't Hold Meta, Microsoft Gains: Stock Market Today
The main indexes all opened higher Thursday on impressive Big Tech earnings, but momentum faded into the close.
-
How to Invest for a Fall Interest Rate Cut by the Fed
A lot can happen between now and then, but the probability the Fed cuts interest rates before the end of the year is better than 85%.
-
Stocks Are Up and Down on Fed Day: Stock Market Today
In another sign of changing times, JPMorgan has partnered with Coinbase to enable cryptocurrency purchases with credit cards.
-
UnitedHealth Stock Drags on Dow: Stock Market Today
Corporate earnings have dominated Wall Street's attention this week, but that changes on Wednesday.
-
Are Buffett and Berkshire About to Bail on Kraft Heinz Stock?
Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway own a lot of Kraft Heinz stock, so what happens when they decide to sell KHC?
-
Dow Bleeds Red Due to Big Blue: Stock Market Today
Six of the official GICS sectors were in the green, led by communications services, technology and energy stocks.
-
How the Stock Market Performed in the First 6 Months of Trump's Second Term
Six months after President Donald Trump's inauguration, take a look at how the stock market has performed.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Berkshire Hathaway Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Berkshire Hathaway is a long-time market beater, but the easy money in BRK.B has already been made.