The market struggled Thursday to push through resistance just above the 1460 level.  It put in a valiant effort, but it ultimately recoiled in the face of a disappointing earnings report from Google (GOOG) that was mistakenly released during the trading session by R.R. Donnelly.

The timing of Google's release was stunning, but whether it came out during the day or after the close as previously intended, the results would have printed all the same.  An earnings miss is an earnings miss and Google, which reported a third quarter profit of $9.03 per share, missed the Capital IQ consensus estimate by $1.63.

Shares of GOOG got clobbered after the result and pulled down the broader market while weighing particularly heavy on the Nasdaq.   GOOG ended the day down 8.0%.  Then again, having gained as much as 36% since June 1 might have left Google hard-pressed to avoid a sell-the-news response to a good report anyway. 

We won't know, because what happened yesterday is history now.  Speaking of history (and not the good kind), today is the 25th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash.

No need to dwell on such negative things -- at least not of that variety.  What needs dwelling on is the generally disappointing earnings reports for the third quarter. 

The financial sector overall is an exception, which was expected, but the tech sector has been a wreck and the industrials haven't exactly been reporting industrial-strength earnings.

Following in the wake of Google, IBM (IBM), and Intel (INTC) to name a few, Microsoft (MSFT) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) both disappointed with their results after yesterday's close. 

On the industrial side, Parker Hannifin (PH) missed the Capital IQ consensus estimate by seventeen cents and issued downside guidance.  Ingersoll-Rand (IR) beat by nine cents, but guided below consensus estimates for the fourth quarter.  General Electric (GE) missed the Capital IQ consensus estimate by a penny (although it was in-line with other consensus estimate providers), but did say it is on track for double-digit earnings growth this year.  Honeywell (HON) beat by seven cents.

Elsewhere, McDonald's (MCD) missed by four cents on a 0.2% decline in revenue and said comparable sales in October are trending negative.  Not good.

Schlumberger (SLB) beat by a penny, but Baker Hughes (BHI) missed by twelve cents.

In brief, there isn't any earnings-reporting momentum right now and guidance, when provided, has been generally cautious.  Against that backdrop, we can understand why the market has struggled to break through resistance.

Why it hasn't fallen more is probably the bigger question.  Part of the answer is that the financial sector has been a relative strength leader.  Another part of the answer is that many participants are reluctant to sell when the Federal Reserve is essentially telling them to buy.

Notwithstanding the high-profile earnings disappointments, the S&P 500 is up 2.0% for the week entering today's session and is basically flat since the Fed announced QE3 on September 13.

The S&P futures are currently 0.3% below fair value, leaving the cash market on track for a slightly lower open.  Not bad for less-than-good earnings news. 

--Patrick J. O'Hare, Briefing.com

(Editor's Note: The original comment said Ingersoll-Rand missed estimates by nine cents.  In fact, Ingersoll-Rand beat estimates by nine cents.  The original comment has been corrected.)