Aluminum giant Alcoa (AA) kicks off fourth quarter earnings season after the closing bell today and there is little doubt that they will be the first in a series of profit reports over the next few weeks that will be absolutely brutal. Fortunately, most investors already know that, so the market's reaction is unlikely to mirror the dramatic sell-off we saw in October and November. The fourth quarter could prove to be the weakest quarter of the entire recession in terms of GDP growth (a 5 or 6 percent decline is both possible and probable), which would imply that corporate profits have no chance of exceeding expectations this quarter.
The key, however, is not what the numbers are but rather how the market reacts to them. With sentiment so negative on the earnings front, there will be instances where stocks actually do not drop, or even rise slightly after poor profit reports are announced. Since the stock market is forward looking, a company reporting a lousy number, if no worse than expected, will actually bring smiles to investors' eyes because it alleviates the concern that things could be even worse than many believe they are.
How the market reacts during this earnings season will be very telling for the near-term dynamics of Wall Street. If numbers come in weak as expected, but not a lot worse than the already low expectations, technical analysts will be quick to point that out as a positive sign. This would be a key signal that the market has reached a short term bottom. Such action would tell me that the market is truly looking ahead to possible economic stimulus and other actions that could help make the fourth quarter the worst quarterly GDP reading we ultimately see.
Conversely, a poor market reaction to these profit reports could mean a retest of the November lows. The market has done pretty well in recent weeks as it looks ahead to an Obama administration, but its patience will certainly be tested over the next couple of weeks. Personally, I think we will see a modestly negative reaction over the short-term, only because we have already seen a decent level of bargain hunting prior to earnings season.
Full Disclosure: No position in Alcoa at the time of writing, but positions may change at any time