Markets Fall, MasterCard Beats Estimates

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.23 percent to 15,583.12 while the NASDAQ declined 0.36 percent to 3,916.34. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.21 percent to 1,759.69.

Top Headline
MasterCard (MA) reported a 14 percent rise in its third quarter. MasterCard's quarterly net income surged to $879 million, or $7.27 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $772 million, or $6.17 per share. Its revenue climbed 16 percent to $2.22 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $6.94 per share on revenue of $2.14 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Expedia (EXPE) shot up 17.93 percent to $58.92 after the company reported upbeat quarterly profit. Bank of America upgraded the stock Neutral to Buy and lifted the target price from $60 to $75. Shares of Alcatel-Lucent SA (ALU) got a boost, shooting up 12.73 percent to $3.72 after the company posted a narrower loss in the third quarter. Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) was also up, gaining 6.68 percent to $7.19 after the company reported a narrower-than-expected Q3 loss.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Avon Products (AVP) were down 19.38 percent to $18.06 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q3 results. NII Holdings (NIHD) shares tumbled 13.96 percent to $4.13 after the company reported Q3 results. MGM Resorts International (MGM) was down, falling 5.86 percent to $19.10 after the company reported a Q3 loss of $31.9 million, or $0.07 per share.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.14 percent to $96.63, while gold traded down 1.50 percent to $1,329.00. Silver traded down 3.93 percent Thursday to $22.08, while copper fell 0.54 percent to $3.31.

Euro Zone
European shares were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.94 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 0.09 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.02 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.45 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.48 percent.

Economics
US jobless claims declined by 10,000 to 340,000 in the week ending October 26. However, economists were projecting claims to drop to 337,000. The Chicago PMI rose to 65.90 in October, from a prior reading of 55.70. However, economists were expecting a reading of 55.00. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 37.6 in the week ending October 27, versus a prior reading of minus 36.1. The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills. Data on farm prices will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.