81.   Mexican stocks ended higher in thin trade Wednesday as investors went bottom fishing to scoop up names that got battered during the earnings season.

82.   Overall, trading was quiet as the corporate earnings season got under way, but so far the announcements have been encouraging.

83.   One positive has been in the way stocks have held up despite a fairly tepid earnings season, which began in earnest last week.

84.   Since late May, in fact, Wall Street has been bracing itself for the upcoming second-quarter earnings season, fearing weaker than expected results.

85.   Since late May, Wall Street has been bracing itself for the upcoming second-quarter earnings season, fearing weaker than expected results.

86.   So far this earnings season, many companies have lowered their expectations or offered little information about future prospects.

87.   Stocks have held up well despite a fairly tepid earnings season, which began in earnest last week.

88.   That will translate into difficult earnings season in July and extremely cautious outlook for the rest of the year.

89.   Taiwan shares ended lower in cautious trading ahead of the first-quarter earnings season.

90.   The approach of first-quarter earnings season next month should help settle the issue, but until then most analysts expect gains to be tentative.