LONDON (ShareCast) - Large falls for some economic bellwethers saw US benchmarks tank on Friday, as concerns about the Eurozone debt crisis faded temporarily into the background.

Colin Cieszynski from CMC Markets said: "Following on from Google’s big disappointment midday, a number of America’s largest companies (GE, MicroSoft, McDonalds and others) have come in below expectations on earnings, revenues or guidance."

European stocks slipped earlier today as eyes were kept firmly pinned to the two-day EU summit in Brussels. European leaders announced that they would set up a Eurozone bank supervisor run by the European Central Bank (ECB) by the end of the year.

“We have a date in place now for the legislative framework, which we didn’t have before – and that in itself is an important step forward," said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

Microsoft, McDonald's and GE dampen sentiment

Software colossus Microsoft set alarm bells ringing in the technology sector, with a set of first-quarter results which showed post-tax earnings down 22% year-on-year to $4.47bn, or 53 cents a share. Analysts had been expecting earnings per share of around 56 cents.

Market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital said: "Both Google and Microsoft join ASML, IBM and Intel in the raft of disappointing tech earnings released so far which certainly does not bode well for others due to report in the sector."

Fast-food chain McDonald's dropped after recording its lowest quarterly restaurant sales increase in nine years while earnings missed forecasts for the second quarter in a row.

Industrial conglomerate General Electric also disappointed the market. The firm's third-quarter revenue of $36.35bn was about half a billion dollars shy of the Street's expectations.

Restaurant group Chipotle Mexican Grill plummeted 15% after a 20% jump in third-quarter profits missed consensus estimates. The company said that it is thinking of upping its menu prices as a result of rising food costs.

Advanced Micro Devices suffered a sell-off after announcing that it was laying off 15% of its staff, equal to 1,800 employees.

S&P 500 - Risers
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) $60.75 +6.02%
Robert Half International Inc. (RHI) $27.24 +5.05%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $44.02 +2.71%
People's United Financial Inc. (PBCT) $12.29 +2.08%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $62.50 +1.76%
Ingersoll Rand Ltd. (IR) $46.46 +1.75%
Dean Foods Co. (DF) $18.22 +1.56%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $17.89 +1.36%
Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIV) $26.86 +1.24%
Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM) $34.08 +0.89%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $2.17 -16.98%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $242.97 -15.02%
E*TRADE Financial Corp. (ETFC) $8.57 -9.02%
Parker-Hannifin Corp. (PH) $78.83 -7.33%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $23.54 -6.36%
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $80.21 -6.02%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $12.10 -5.87%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $25.86 -5.76%
Janus Capital Group Inc. (JNS) $8.55 -5.73%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $13.08 -5.42%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $61.89 +0.15%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $88.79 -4.38%
General Electric Co. (GE) $22.03 -3.42%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $83.86 -3.19%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $18.04 -3.04%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $28.64 -2.90%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $9.01 -2.17%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $49.34 -2.14%
AT&T Inc. (T) $35.32 -1.94%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $47.03 -1.94%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $14.52 -1.93%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $44.02 +2.71%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $80.58 +0.83%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $41.72 +0.73%
Fossil Inc. (FOSL) $89.35 +0.68%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $120.55 +0.54%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $538.35 +0.47%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $28.38 +0.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) $7.57 -14.31%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $12.10 -5.87%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $13.08 -5.42%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $107.62 -5.32%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $53.28 -4.91%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $50.24 -4.53%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $75.16 -4.23%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $52.10 -4.02%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $58.72 -3.75%
Priceline.Com Inc. (PCLN) $560.58 -3.74%

BC

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