Markets: News  

The main indices have been pinned in negative territory today. Microsoft's (MSFT 239.29, -2.75, -1.1%) disappointing fiscal Q3 outlook and expected growth deceleration for its Azure business precipitated a fairly broad retreat, driven by renewed valuation and earnings concerns.In addition to Microsoft, some of the other notable names that reported earnings since yesterday's close have received negative reactions from investors, adding fuel to the negative sentiment. Dow component Boeing (BA 210.69, -1.30, -0.6%), Texas Instruments (TXN 174.44, -2.60, -1.5%), Norfolk Southern (NSC 243.27, -12.77, -5.0%), and Kimberly-Clark (KMB 131.20, -3.40, -2.5%) are losing standouts in that regard. There is also an element of geopolitical angst in play after Germany and the U.S. reached an agreement to supply tanks to Ukraine for its fight against Russia.Despite the negative bias, things have improved noticeably from earlier levels. Shortly after the open, decliners led advancers by a 4-to-1 margin at the NYSE and a nearly 3-to-1 margin at the Nasdaq. Now, decliners lead advancers by a less than 2-to-1 margin at both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. The upside moves coincided with buyers stepping in after the S&P 500 breached support at its 200-day moving average (3,961). Many stocks narrowed their losses, including Microsoft, which had been down 4.6%. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) is down 0.6%, but had been down 1.4% at its intraday low.The rebound effort ran into some resistance after the S&P 500 tested yesterday's session low at 3,990, but the main indices are still hanging out near their best levels of the session. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors trade down led by utilities (-1.6%) and information technology (-1.3%). The financial sector (+0.1%) sits alone in positive territory thanks to an earnings-driven gain in Capital One (COF 114.73, +8.22, +7.6%).Other notable names going against the grain following their quarterly results include AT&T (T 20.24, +1.08, +5.7%) and ASML (ASML 675.38, +5.37, +0.8%). Reviewing today's economic data:Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index 7.0%; Prior 27.9%Weekly EIA Crude Oil Inventories +0.533M; prior +8.41M