MARKET SNAPSHOT: Earnings Under Pressure From Stronger U.S. Dollar

By Wallace Witkowski, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Investors will start finding out if a stronger U.S. dollar really dents quarterly results this week as earnings season ramps up with the financial sector providing the bulk of reports and a few key players in tech posting results.

Stocks are coming off another rough week with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) off 2%, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) down 3%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) sliding 4%.

In a recent report, Goldman Sachs said it expects S&P 500 companies dependent on foreign sales to turn in disappointing revenue for the third quarter because of weaker macro data and a stronger dollar.

"We believe domestic-facing stocks will be less likely to miss estimates relative to those with Western Europe revenue exposure," Goldman Sachs noted.

Stocks with the highest foreign exposure have taken a turn for the worse lately after a good run since 2012, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategist Savita Subramanian, offering a similar assessment for companies dependent on foreign sales.

"The top 50 stocks in the S&P 500 by foreign exposure fell over 5% last quarter, making this the worst-performing factor that we track," Subramanian said. "Estimate revisions for this segment have deteriorated over the past two months, suggesting a lower bar to beat this earnings season."

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, rose nearly 8% over the third quarter.

Financial earnings reports dominate this week with nearly 50% of the weighting on the S&P 500 reporting, but as Goldman points out, that sector is relatively less reliant on non-U.S. revenue when compared to other sectors like tech, which will also see some big names reporting this week.

Major earnings on tap this week

Seven Dow components release quarterly earnings, and about 10% of the S&P 500 will report this week.

In the financial sector: J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) , and Citigroup Inc. (C) report on Tuesday. Bank of America Corp. (BAC) , American Express Co. (AXP) , and BlackRock Inc. (BLK) post results on Wednesday. On Thursday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) reports, with Morgan Stanley (MS) on Friday.

Big tech names reporting include Intel Corp.(INTC) on Tuesday, Netflix Inc.(NFLX) and eBay Inc.(EBAY) on Wednesday, and Google Inc. (GOOG) on Thursday.

In health care-related stocks Johnson & Johnson Inc.(JNJ) reports Tuesday, and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) reports Thursday.

Capping the week for Dow components, General Electric Co. (GE) reports Friday.

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