New York: US stock investors will be taking their cues this week from a barrage of earnings reports as well as from economic data on housing activity and sales of big-ticket items.

When it comes to deciphering earnings reports, "it's all about the outlook," said John Buckingham, chief investment officer and portfolio manager for the Al Frank Funds.

He noted that Apple last Wednesday posted a 78 per cent increase in profits and said it sold more than 21 million iPods. But skittish investors sent the stock lower after the company forecast that profit in the next quarter would fall short of expectations.

Among the hundreds of companies reporting earnings this week will be Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories in the drug sector, Bank of America and Wachovia from the US roster of banks, and DuPont, with its blue-chip industrial pedigree.

Pfizer's results are due tomorrow and Abbott Laboratories' earnings are set for Wednesday, with Bank of America, Wachovia, J&J and DuPont all on Tuesday.

In addition to reporting quarterly earnings, Pfizer has also promised results of a review of its "strategic direction" with investors anticipating major changes under new chief executive Jeffrey Kindler.

"Companies made money in the second quarter and the third quarter," said Michael Cuggino, president and portfolio manager of the Permanent Portfolio Funds in San Francisco. "I suspect for the most part, they're going to continue to report pretty good results for the fourth quarter."

Cuggino believes the fourth-quarter results will continue the long string of double-digit increases, but the year-over-year gains may be in the high single-digits when 2007 results come out.

According to Reuters Estimates, fourth-quarter earnings for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 are expected to rise 9.7 per cent over a year ago. The calculation includes actual numbers for companies that have reported earnings and estimates for the remainder.

Carl Birkelbach, chief executive of Birkelbach Management in Chicago, thinks investors may be in for some disappointments this week.

"Whereas last year the market went up as a whole, it is now going to be more mixed, more rotational. You're going to have to be in the right industries at the right time," Birkelbach said.

Among the economic data on the radar this week will be existing home sales on Thursday and new home sales on Friday. Durable goods orders are also scheduled for Friday.

A Reuters poll shows economists on average forecast sales of existing homes in December were at a 6.25-million-unit annual rate, down slightly from 6.28 million in November.

Sales of new homes in December are forecast at 1.05 million units, essentially in line with the previous month.