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Markets opened slightly lower Friday after a 4-day rally as companies like UPS and McDonald's disappointed investors with weak results. A rally in crude prices after the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah didn't last due to uncertainty regarding future Saudi oil policy moves. In the U.S., it was a down start for McDonald's (MCD), which disappointed on its bottom line but at least managed to surprise with same-store sales. And UPS (UPS) couldn't say anything to calm investors, as its outlook -- potentially foreshadowing a disappointing digital sales quarter -- for holiday numbers wasn't what the Street was seeking. Shares there are down 9% to start the day.

A couple of companies that have struggled in a rising tide over 2014 will report fourth quarter earnings after a big Thursday for markets: McDonald's (MCD) and General Electric (GE). Each has been a market mainstay and a portfolio favorite of many investors -- but both are laggards over the last 12 months. McDonald's had to 'send in the clown,' in the form of marketing favorite Ronald, and G-E has been chopping off undesirable assets as it rebalances its portfolio. Plus, Jim Cramer says Dollar General is a winner, despite Family Dollar investors swaying the sale vote to its competitor.

Wall Street took a little convincing Thursday to see the European Central Bank's quantitative easing as a good thing, but once confidence returned to the markets it did so with force. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumped more than 1% and the Dow added 260 points. Earlier, President Mario Draghi said the ECB would begin purchasing 60 billion euros, or $69 billion, worth of asset-backed securities each month beginning in March. Financials rallied as investors picked up bargains in a sector which sold off on poor earnings last week. Airlines were also higher with Southwest and United benefiting from lower fuel costs.

The Dow was up triple-digits in midday trading Thursday, with the S&P and Nasdaq tacking on solid gains as well. Markets responded positively to the European Central Bank's $1 trillion move to keep its stock markets afloat. Also, Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock rose nearly seven points to start the day as the airline had its second big day this week, thanks to its own better-than-expected earnings report. Plus, Johnson Controls (JCI) didn't exactly wow markets with flat revenue, but its explanation of improving market conditions has investors buying back in.

Markets started off strong Thursday as they responded to the ECB's stimulus move, but eventually fell as traders could not shrug off uncertainty. Southwest Airlines (LUV) shares took flight at the open as the airline joined other competitors that have outperformed thanks to sustained prices for consumers and falling fuel costs. Plus, Starbucks (SBUX) looks to maintain its streak of meeting or beating estimates, and will report earnings today after the close. The company's 9% gains over the last 12 months could be hampered by rising coffee prices.

Airlines are taking off in 2015 with earnings season and Southwest (LUV) is next up as we get ready for the open Thursday January 22. There are more earnings after the bell, as well, from Verizon Communications (VZ). Verizon's shares have lagged the pace of the market (unlike Southwest) for the last 12 months and today Wall St. is looking for EPS of $0.72 vs. $0.68 last year. Finally, Jim Cramer is in a lather for Unilever (UL) shares after the stock fell on weaker-than-expected guidance last week. The stock rebounded yesterday and Cramer is targeting $45 dollars a share.

In midday trading Wednesday January 21, investors cheered the market's return to life after opening up in the red -- especially investors in GoPro (GPRO). The maker of action-cameras, which saw shares plummet earlier this year on news that Apple (AAPL) would compete with it, had life breathed back into its stock as it counts down to its earnings announcement coming in early February. And it's also a big day for Microsoft (MSFT) stock although shares haven't made any major moves yet. Later today, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and other execs will demonstrate new web products for an eager media audience.

Markets opened lower to start the day Wednesday, but stocks including U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Netflix (NFLX) had surprises for investors. U.S. Bancorp, which has seen stock about breakeven over the last 12 months, topped expectations on the bottom line and on revenue, sending the stock up slightly at the open. And Netflix's big beat has shares soaring into the open. With expectations at $0.45/share, the company turned in a stronger-than-expected performance and delivered revenue of nearly $1.5 billion, stunning markets and lifting analysts' long-term projections.

The earnings parade continues Wednesday, January 21, and U.S. Bancorp, American Express and eBay are all expected to report quarterly numbers. U.S. Bancorp will go before the bell, in what has been a disappointing few weeks for banks. And after the market closes, American Express, which has lagged behind its competitors, is set to announce earnings as well. eBay, which is plotting the spin-off of online payments unit Paypal, is also struggling to match market benchmarks. And Jim Cramer is keeping a keen eye on McDonald's stock, now in the $90s: Cramer is targeting $100 for the stock.

Stocks managed to eke out slight gains by session close after spending much of Tuesday in the red. A rally among tech giants helped to lift indexes into the green in the afternoon session. Among the best performers, Apple was up nearly 3% and Yahoo! jumped 2.5%. Twitter was also gaining on news it will gain a foothold in India after announcing its purchase of Bangalore-based ZipDial, a startup specializing in marketing to cellphone users. Oil prices plunged again as Iraq reported a record level of 4 million barrels of oil produced per day and as the International Monetary Fund cut its two-year forecast for global growth.

Stocks took a turn for the worse in midday trading on Tuesday, as the fall in oil prices interrupted the markets rally earlier in the morning, caused by anticipation that the European Central Bank would announce a stimulus package later this week. The three major indexes are all down about between 0.3-1%. Oil prices are down 3.8% trading at $46.88 per barrel. This isn't helping oil stocks like Exxon Mobil (XOM), Anadarko Petroleum (APC) and BP (BP), which were all in the red. On the earnings front, Delta Air Lines (DAL) posted fourth quarter earnings, which topped estimates, largely on the heels of lower oil prices. But Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares slipped over 3% after missing analyst's forecasts. Investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) was also lower after falling short of Wall Street's expectations on the top and bottom lines. TheStreet's Scott Gamm has details from New York.

U.S. markets started the day higher on Tuesday, but stocks including Johnson & Johnson and Morgan Stanley are left out of the gains. Morgan Stanley disappointed on the top and bottom line, missing out on trading revenue like so many of the other Wall St. banks to report earnings this quarter. And Johnson & Johnson's bottom line beat wasn't enough to keep shares in the black this morning after a revenue miss guided the stock lower at the open. But investors will have more stocks to watch this afternoon, as Netflix and IBM line up earnings once the markets close.

After a bad week for bank earnings, Morgan Stanley and Delta will lead off Tuesday morning's quarterly announcements. Morgan Stanley is reporting after a number of investment banks, including Citigroup and Bank of America, disappointed investors and the sector is off to a slow start in 2015. Delta will report earnings after shares gained nearly 50 percent in the last 12 months, plus plenty of other companies will make announcements. And Jim Cramer is launching into a new position in Cisco Systems: he's bullish on the company making gains after a strong close to the year in 2014.

Stocks made a comeback on Friday, largely on the heels of oil prices which edged higher. Each of the three major indexes closed in the green. The S&P 500 ended the trading day up 1.3% at 2,019, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 190 points closing at 17,511, while the Nasdaq rose 1.4%. Crude prices jumped almost 5.3% settling at $48.69 per barrel. The commodity is still down some 60% since last summer. This caused a rally in oil companies like Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and BP (BP). As for economic data, the consumer price index was released on Friday for December, showing a 0.4% drop in prices, after falling 0.3% in November. The markets are closed on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from New York.

The S&P, the Dow and the Nasdaq were all up less than a half-a-percent in midday trading Friday as markets sift through the damage wrought by a surprise move the Swiss Franc made yesterday. Foreign exchange FXCM is looking to be one of the firms that took a hit and the company is reportedly looking into a lifeline with investment bank Jefferies. Neftlix investors are giving the stock a boost ahead of its earnings expected next week. Consumer are feeling upbeat about the economy with sentiment hitting an 11-year high. The preliminary January reading shows the consumer sentiment index increased to its highest level since January 2004.