Stocks in New York were mixed Tuesday as investors swallowed more layoffs and took in some better-than-expected earnings, such as Hershey (HSY Quote - Cramer on HSY - Stock Picks) and U.S. Steel (X Quote - Cramer on X - Stock Picks), and some worse, such as Du Pont (DD Quote - Cramer on DD - Stock Picks) and Valero (VLO Quote - Cramer on VLO - Stock Picks), on top of more daunting economic indicators.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially even at 8115, and the S&P 500 was up 2 points at 839. The Nasdaq was tacking on 4 points at 1494 with Netflix (NFLX Quote - Cramer on NFLX - Stock Picks), for one, providing a slight post-earnings pop.
The major indices ended in positive territory Monday after an unusual dose of better-than-expected economic data and a megadeal involving Pfizer(PFE Quote - Cramer on PFE - Stock Picks) that lent some hope to those looking for a thaw in financing. Those items weighed against more bleak earnings and symptoms of a suffering global economy.
The layoffs continued Tuesday as Corning (GLW Quote - Cramer on GLW - Stock Picks) said it would cut about 3,500 employees after fourth-quarter earnings declined 65% on slumping demand for glass used in flat-screen televisions and computers.
The Wall Street Journal reported that IBM (IBM Quote - Cramer on IBM - Stock Picks) also sent layoff notices to more than 2,800 people in its sales and software groups in the U.S. last week.
Texas Instruments(TI Quote - Cramer on TI - Stock Picks)also said it would slash 3,400 jobs, after the chip maker said its earnings fell 86%.
If there's a silver lining, the company, which said its earnings fell 86%, still turned a better-than-expected profit, as did American Express (AXP Quote - Cramer on AXP - Stock Picks), although its profits also plummeted, 79%, in the recent quarter.
The real sweet spot, though, was Hershey(HSY Quote - Cramer on HSY - Stock Picks), which said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter sales and profits increased, aided by dropping capital costs, increased prices and a giant ad investment in key brands.
Likewise, New York-based pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY Quote - Cramer on BMY - Stock Picks) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, helped by strong sales of several key drugs and the sale of its stake in ImClone Systems.
Netflix stood out as well, reporting better-than-expected profits and a planned $175 million share buyback. Shares were up 16.4% early Tuesday.
Verizon(VZ Quote - Cramer on VZ - Stock Picks) shares were down some 5% after it reported earnings that were flat on an adjusted basis but in line with expectations, and revenue that increased slightly less than predicted.
Elsewhere, DuPont (DD Quote - Cramer on DD - Stock Picks) was also on the decline after it swung to a fourth quarter loss, ailed by a restructuring charge, missing street expectations, and scaled back its 2009 earnings forecast by 25 cents a share.
In economic data, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, prices for single-family homes fell 2.2% in December from November, slightly worse than expected. Prices were down by a record 18.2% from a year prior, which was slightly better than expected.
And as housing market conditions continue to deteriorate with the ailing economy, mortgage finance company Fannie Mae (FNM Quote - Cramer on FNM - Stock Picks) said that it likely needs an injection of $11 billion to $16 billion from the government.
Last week, Freddie Mac(FRE Quote - Cramer on FRE - Stock Picks) said it will need up to $35 billion atop the $13.8 billion of taxpayer help it received last year.
Also, the Conference Board said the preliminary consumer sentiment index for the current month has fallen to 37.7 from 38.6 in December, with the expectations index dropping to 43.0 from 44.2 the previous month.
In commodities, oil was down $2, at $43.70, while gold was falling $9 to $899 an ounce.
Longer-dated Treasuries were recently falling; the 10-year note was recently up 3.5/32 to yield 2.6%, the 30-year was rising 27/32, yielding 3.3%.
The dollar was again stronger against the yen, and weaker against the pound and euro.
Overseas, the FTSE in London and the DAX in Frankfurt were in negative territory after Japan's Nikkei managed a 4.9% gain for the day but Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended with losses.
