fourth-quarter earnings

Traders will be reading between the State of the Union's lines to see what Obama's new approach means for business and the market. And given stocks' steady rise for the past eight weeks, profit-taking and choppy action should be no surprise. [Video]

Apple, BofA, Morgan Stanley, IBM, GE, Goldman and Google are among the names reporting this week. And if last week's numbers are any guide, the market should have plenty of reasons to rally -- especially because expectations aren't all that great.

Applied Materials, the world's largest maker of computer-chip-manufacturing equipment, says its profit for its fiscal fourth quarter more than tripled from the same period a year ago.

Stocks kicked off the final quarter of the year with moderate gains Friday as more encouraging data on consumer spending, consumer sentiment and auto sales were partly offset by a slowdown in manufacturing activity.

UPS, the world's biggest shipping company, said fourth-quarter net income nearly tripled from a year ago, as brisk holiday business and lower costs more than offset a decline in revenue. The company also affirmed its 2010 outlook.

You'd never know it from recent equity action, but fourth-quarter earnings season has so far been remarkably strong. Apart from when the news is bad, earnings reports have gotten the cold shoulder from investors so far this season.

United Airlines parent UAL Corp. and AirTran Airways will release their fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday, and both are expected to post improved results, helped by lower jet fuel costs and slower declines in demand.

Delta Air Lines reported a smaller fourth-quarter loss Tuesday, helped by lower fuel costs and declining restructuring charges, but results failed to meet Wall Street's earnings expectations by a few cents per share.

Continental Airlines and Southwest Airlines, the nation's largest discount carrier, posted fourth-quarter profits Thursday, helped by lower fuel costs and improved demand, but both cautioned that the sector faces more turbulence in 2010.

Aluminum giant Alcoa on Monday posted a narrower fourth-quarter net loss, helped by costs cuts and higher aluminum prices, but its earnings fell short of Wall Street's forecast. The question now is: Will the earnings miss trigger a wider sell-off on Tuesday?