Sandy Closes Markets; Pfizer Inc (PFE) and Others Push Earnings Back

The U.S. financial markets are closed today in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy, and are likely to be dark tomorrow also as the East Coast prepares for what is being called “FrankSTORM.” The agreement between the markets and their regulators was reached late Sunday night and marks the first time there has been an unscheduled market shutdown since September 2001.

According to the Wall Street Journal, one concern is that the “Closing of the New York Stock Exchange floor would require trading firms to re-code their systems Sunday night to route away from a major market center, in preparation for the market open, even as employees were unsure about transportation to their offices.” But, the closing of the markets represents a secondary issue – earnings reports.

Reuters writes that energy company Anadarko Corp (NYSE:APC) will continue as planned, announcing its quarterly results this afternoon, but for others earnings reports are being delayed. Drugmaker Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was due to report its earnings on Tuesday, but has since rescheduled its report until November 1. Power companies Entergy Corp (NYSE:ETR) and NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) also said that they would postpone releasing quarterly earnings results, in their cases until November 5 and November 2, respectively.