| 1 | The swings aren't that astonishing given the tiny pool of 30 companies that make up the Dow. | |
| 2 | Microsoft, which is a component stock of the Dow Jones industrial average, has lost half its value since 2000. | |
| 3 | Earnings for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index in the fourth quarter are expected to increase 31.9 percent from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. | |
| 4 | Of 262 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported quarterly earnings, 72 percent topped Wall Street expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data. | |
| 5 | HPQ.N), a Dow component, rose 2.2 percent to $42.53 after the computer and printer maker forecast 2011 profits above estimates. |