14 companies beat estimates, 6 missed, and 1 tied. The average “surprise factor” was 6.4%; meaning companies reported earnings an average of 6.4% higher than street expectations this week.

In this Market Factors, we describe why equity investors ... As the year began, Mr. Wilson saw a U.S. ten-year yield of between 4.00 and 4.50 per cent as the sweet spot for equity valuations.