US open: Markets fluctuate as IBM falls sharply, Apple set to publish

US stocks edged forward on Monday after a relatively slow start, as investors are set to focus on companies’ earnings.

The earnings season will get into full swing throughout the week as earnings for over 100 US companies are set to be released, with investors hoping for stronger numbers in a bid to make up the recent losses.

Dallas Federal Reserve president Richard Fisher said that he will support ending the central bank’s bond-buying programme next week as scheduled.

On Monday, Fisher told CNBC that he was not concerned by the volatility that hampered markets last week, adding he did not think inflation was trending lower.

Fisher’s comments came in response to St. Louis Fed President James Bullard’s suggestion that the $15 billion-per-month purchase programme should be extended until December.

Bullard, whose initiative is yet to receive any support from Fed officials, last week suggested that the programme should be extended due to concerns about declining inflation expectations.

In corporate news, International Business Machines (IBM), the second-biggest stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as of last week, fell sharply after posting lower than expected earnings in its third quarter.

Sales at the technology giant fell across several divisions and IBM has now failed to generate a revenue increase for 10 straight quarters.

Technology firms in the S&P 500 dropped 0.5%, with Oracle and CSX both dropping over three percentage points, the latter after announcing that talks over a proposed merger with Canadian Pacific Railway ended.

Apple rose slightly ahead of its quarterly earnings report tonight, with analysts estimating that the iPhone maker’s profit rose 10%.

In the first session of the week, the dollar was in retreat against the pound, the euro and the yen.

The price of West Texas intermediate crude fell by almost one percentage point as oil traded at just over $82 a barrel, while gold futures edged forward to $1.246.10.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped two basis points to 2.17%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury note shed one basis point to 2.95 and the yield on the five-year note fell two basis points to 1.39.