Market Wrap: Apple Slips Following Rare Miss; Ford Warns on Europe; Yahoo! CEO Makes First Purchase; Initial Claims Down, Not Out

Market wrap-up for October 25th

End of the Day: S&P 500 up 4.2 to 1,412.97; Dow Jones up 26.3 to 13,103.68; Nasdaq up 4.4 to 2,986.12

The following is a brief summary of events moving markets today:

• Not being able to meet demand is usually a good thing: Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) shares dipped a little bit lower in late trading Thursday following a slight earnings miss. EPS in the quarter was $8.67, up from $7.05 last year, but below the consensus of $8.75. Revs were $36 billion, versus $28.3 billion last year and the consensus of $35.8 billion. Apple shipped about 26.9 million iPhones.
  
  iPhone sales were hampered by the advanced technology used in panels, which has caused some problems on the manufacturing side of things. Still, many other OEMs would love to have the same quarterly smartphone sales Apple still boasts.
  
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• No money, mo' problems: Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) reported that it plans to reduce installed vehicle assembly capacity in Europe, excluding Russia, by 18 percent or 355,000 units. The related gross annual savings total $450 million to $500 million.
  
  The automaker said, "The announcements come against the backdrop of the severe and persistent economic crisis in Europe and a projected loss for Ford Europe for the full year 2012 exceeding $1.5 billion. This includes more than $400 million related to dealer stock reductions, and about $100 million of accelerated depreciation associated with planned manufacturing footprint actions. Compared with prior guidance, the higher loss is explained primarily by the strategic destocking actions being taken in the fourth quarter."
  
  
• Milestone broken: Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer made her first acquisition today in mobile application maker Stamped. The deal is small, reports have it around $10 million or so, but it's still a notable milestone for the new Yahoo! boss.
  
  The acquisition is more for the brain power behind the company rather than the actual company itself. Billed as an app and website that allows users to share recommendations on restaurants, bars, salons, and more, it seems very akin to Yelp (NYSE: YELP).
  
  
• Economy not good, but not the worst: Initial jobless claims were ho-hum for the week ended October 20th. New data shows apps of 369,000 last week, lower than consensus views calling for a drop tp 375,000 and down 23,000 from 392,000 the prior week. Analyst say demand is firm enough to stem layoffs, though hiring still seems to be on the back burner for now.
  
  The four-week moving average on claims was up 1,500 to 368,000 apps.
  
  
• About that third-quarter: Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPR) fell following an updated to its guidance issued ahead of the bell.
  
  Spirit said it would record about $590 million in total charged for the third quarter, from various programs such as the 787 and G650 initiatives. The company also noted it settled an insurance claim from an April storm at its Kansas facility.
  
  For more color, click here.
  
  
• Prep your taste buds: McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) is rolling out bagged coffee in Canada. No word on when the "Golden Arches" will bring the product to the U.S., but consider this a heads-up Dunkin' Donuts (Nasdaq: DNKN), Tim Horton's (NYSE: THI), and others.

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