S&P 500 Fluctuates as Yahoo Climbs on Sales; Biogen Sinks.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-22/u-s-index-futures-decline-as-investors-weigh-forecasts.html

U.S. stocks fluctuated after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose the most in a year yesterday, companies reported better-than-estimated results and data showed inflation remains tame.

Yahoo! Inc. added 5.9 percent after third-quarter sales topped estimates. Broadcom Corp., a maker of communications chips, jumped 6.2 percent after reporting earnings that beat analysts’ estimates and giving a forecast that eased concern orders might be drying up. Biogen Idec Inc., the world’s biggest maker of multiple sclerosis treatments, slid 8.2 percent as sales of its top drug, Tecfidera, missed analyst estimates.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 1,943.59 at 10:12 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 7.15 points to 16,621.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped less than 0.1 percent.

“It might be kind of a slow reflection day today,” Randy Bateman, the chief investment officer of Huntington Asset Advisors, which manages about $3.5 billion, said by phone. “We’ll probably just have a little digestion from yesterday. Right now, we’re looking at earnings being the driving force of this market. There will be winners and losers.”

Four consecutive advances in the S&P 500 have pushed the gauge up 4.2 percent since Oct. 15, recouping half the losses from a selloff that began in mid-September. The equity index surged 2 percent yesterday, its best day since October 2013, as speculation the European Central Bank will boost stimulus to spur growth in the region.

Inflation Data

The cost of living in the U.S. barely rose in September, leaving inflation below the Federal Reserve’s goal as fuel prices plunge this month. The consumer-price index climbed 0.1 percent after decreasing 0.2 percent in August, a Labor Department report showed.

BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink said yesterday the selloff last week in U.S. equity markets “weeded out the excesses,” making stocks a good investment for those who aren’t going to sell their positions soon.

“As a long-term investor, yes, I’d be buying equities,” Fink said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Erik Schatzker. “This is just a market correction, and we need market corrections to clean the market out.”