2:30PM NY – U.S. Movers: Breakfast menu and high calorie burger lift sales at Burger king.

Burger King (BKI: chart), fast food chain operator reported third quarter earnings of 25 cents per share vs. loss of 11 cents a year ago. The company reported earnings of $34 million in the quarter compared to a loss of $12 million on revenue growth of 8.9% to $539 million. The same-store sales in the U.S. and Canada rose 2.6% and gained 3.2% system-wide across the globe. Burger King has made an aggressive push to increase its breakfast sales that trails the others in the industry. The company introduced $1 breakfast and also introduced 1,000 calorie Double Texas Whoppers. In the quarter the company incrased number of stores in operation by 92.

Waste Management (WM: chart), largest trash manager, reported first quarter earnings of $222 million compared to $186 million on a slight revenue fall to $3.19 billion. The company is paying more focus on profitability. In the quarter the company cut its service to several businesses and cities by 5.2% and increased its profit by 16%. The company revised its earnings guidance for the full year between $2.03 and $2.07 per share from $1.96 and $2.00 per share.


Gehl Co. (GHL: chart), agricultural and construction equipment maker, reported first quarter $6.3 million compared to a loss of $2.7 million or 51 cents in the quarter vs. loss of 12 cents a year ago. The company revenue fell 5.7% to $115.2 million. The company revised its sales guidance from the range of $465 to $495 million to $475 million to $500 million. The company revised continuing income between $2.15 and $2.35 per share from $2.00 and $2.30 per share.


1:00AM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt - European stocks closed lower on surging euro.

European stock markets retreated from recent highs on Friday as the euro hit an all-time record versus the dollar on the back of weaker-than-expected U.S. growth data. Major oil companies were the biggest decliners, followed by Spanish property stocks. In the energy sector, Statoil fell 2.3% after making a $2 billion acquisition of a Canadian oil sands producer. BP dropped 1.7% and Royal Dutch Shell fell 1.3%.

Among Spanish property stocks, Grupo Immarcal dropped 2.3%. Banks were also in focus, with shares of Dutch bank ABN Amro up 1.2%. Royal Bank of Scotland slipped 1.5%, Banco Santander dropped 2.7%, and Fortis lost 1.7%. Deutsche Post climbed 5.3% and Deutsche Postbank rose 2.3%, lifted by takeover speculation.

In the tech sector, Infineon Technology fell 2.3% after the chipmaker said its Q2 net loss narrowed, but missed analysts' expectations. The U.K. FTSE 100 fell 0.8% at 6,418.70, the German DAX Xetra 30 lost 0.1% at 7,378.12 and the French CAC-40 slipped 0.2% at 5,930.77. Spain's Ibex-35 index lost 1.4% to end at 14,403.60.


11:30AM U.S. stock averages traded in a lackluster fashion. Airlines declined.

U.S. stock market averages traded in a lackluster fashion, as investors weighed a weaker-than-expected GDP report against surging quarterly profit at Microsoft (MSFT: chart). The tech-heavy Nasdaq was given a boost by the software giant which traded up 4.3%.

Among other gainers, Flextronics International (FLEX: chart), the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, climbed 6.7% on higher quarterly profit. However, the chip sector came under pressure, led by Broadcom (BRCM: chart), down 4.8% and SanDisk (SNDK: chart), falling 2.3%. Among Internet shares, Amazon (AMZN: chart) dropped 2% on brokerage downgrade.

The Dow was led down by General Motors (GM: chart), down 1.9%, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM: chart), down 1.4%, and Home Depot (HD: chart), falling 0.9%. At the same time, the downward move for the blue-chip average was limited by General Electric (GE: chart) which rose 2.3% after positive comments from Citigroup.

Airlines stocks moved steeply lower after JP Morgan downgraded the whole sector. Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL: chart) dropped 3.9%, UAL Corp. (UAUA: chart) fell 4.4% and AMR Corp. (AMR: chart) slipped 3%. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 3.25 points, or 0.02%, at 13,108.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.09 points, or 0.14%, at 1,492.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.05 points, or 0.12%, at 2,557.51.


9:45AM U.S. markets opened mixed on weak GDP data.

U.S. stocks started trading mixed on Friday, after the government's estimate of Q1 economic growth came in weaker than expected, while a measure of employment costs showed continued gains. After the data, the dollar dropped to an all-time low against the euro, which rose as high as $13682.

However, surging profit at Microsoft helped to limit the downside move. Microsoft (MSFT: chart) posted 65% earnings increase, helped by sales of its new Vista operating system. The software giant offered support to the blue-chip average, as well as tech stocks, with its shares moving up 4.7%. Not all tech stocks were trading in the positive. SanDisk (SNDK: chart) dropped 1.6% after saying weak prices for flash-memory chips will continue through the summer. Broadcom (BRCM: chart) dropped 5% after it posted Q2 revenue forecast below expectations.

Among other earnings-related stocks, Cummins (CMI: chart), diesel engine maker, surged 15% after it said its Q1 profit rose 6% to $143 million, or $1.42 per share, from $135 million, or $1.35 per share, during the same period last year. Revenue grew 5% to $2.82 billion from $2.68 billion. Quarterly results beat expectations of a profit of 86 cents per share on revenue of $2.62 billion.