US Closing Market Report

US shares shrugged off unsavoury unemployment data to post good gains, helped by some well-received trade figures. The Dow Jones was up 68 points at 10,405, the S&P 500 gained 6 points to 1,102 and the NASDAQ closed up 7 points at 2,190. Initial jobless claims rose to 474,000 in the week to December 5, up from 457,000 the previous week and compared with expectations of 455,000. In other economic news, the US trade deficit came in lower than expected at $32.9bn rather than the $36.7bn predicted by analysts. Goldman Sachs executives won’t be receiving any cash bonuses this year. The 30-person management committee will receive all of their discretionary bonuses in the form of shares that have to be held for five years. Bonuses can be clawed back if employees engage in improper risk-taking. Shares in the investment bank remained lower after the news was announced. The Dow Jones is up 66 at 10,403, the tech loaded Nasdaq Composite is 13 higher at 2,197, while the broader S&P 500 is 7 better at 1,103. Citigroup's talks with regulators over plans for an equity offering to repay $20bn in bail-out funds may not be concluded before the holidays. Aluminium giant Alcoa is the Dow’s best performer by some way, although Walt Disney has plenty of followers in early deals. US newspaper publisher Gannett, which owns local titles in the UK, is the biggest riser on the S&P after its finance director says that the rate of decline of advertising revenues is slowing. Fourth quarter earnings will be better than expected. Ciena is the biggest faller after the fibre-optic gear maker for phone companies reported higher than expected losses. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Hershey is nearing a final decision on whether to bid for UK chocolate giant Cadbury. Kraft Foods remained lower at midday. S&P 500 - Risers Pall Corp. (PLL) $34.08 +8.57% GANNETT CO INC (GCI) $12.84 +7.00% Unitedhealth Group (UNH) $30.31 +6.35% Cigna Corp. (CI) $35.58 +6.05% Aetna Inc. (AET) $32.04 +5.15% National Oilwell Varco (NOV) $43.82 +5.13% Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $22.28 +4.60% Teradata Corp. (TDC) $31.26 +4.51% Western Union Compan (WU) $19.00 +4.45% Goodyear Tire Rubber (GT) $14.72 +4.18% S&P 500 - Fallers Ciena Corp. (CIEN) $11.70 -11.56% Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $35.02 -4.21% M B I A Inc. (MBI) $3.48 -3.87% Marshall & Ilsley (MI) $5.71 -3.22% Time Warner Inc. (TWX) $30.45 -2.81% Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $27.11 -2.80% Dow Chemical (DOW) $26.67 -2.52% Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) $25.32 -2.47% American International Group Inc. (AIG) $28.93 -2.46% E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) $1.61 -2.42% Dow Jones I.A - Risers Alcoa Inc. (AA) $13.50 +3.21% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $31.30 +1.99% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $27.99 +1.49% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $56.94 +1.35% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $50.76 +1.32% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $58.58 +1.26% 3M Co. (MMM) $80.68 +1.14% Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $54.69 +1.13% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $33.66 +1.08% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $37.54 +1.05% Dow Jones I.A - Fallers Bank Of America Corp. (BAC) $15.21 -1.17% Boeing Co. (BA) $55.01 -0.83% Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $72.40 -0.56% General Electric Co. (GE) $15.61 -0.32% Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $26.68 -0.15% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $62.24 -0.00% Nasdaq 100 - Risers Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $22.28 +4.60% Nii Holdings Inc. (NIHD) $31.83 +3.14% Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $135.40 +3.11% Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $73.34 +2.83% Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $22.57 +2.81% Warner Chilcott Plc (WCRX) $26.92 +2.75% Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $65.77 +2.54% Liberty Media Corp. (LINTA) $10.75 +2.48% Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) $26.82 +2.24% Liberty Global Inc. Series A (LBTYA) $21.38 +2.24% Nasdaq 100 - Fallers Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD) $17.61 -4.24% First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $132.94 -1.79% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $15.41 -1.78% Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX) $7.14 -1.65% J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $33.44 -1.59% Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $24.91 -1.46% Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $30.88 -1.42% Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $23.43 -1.31% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $13.32 -1.26% Network Appliance Inc. (NTAP) $33.32 -1.02%

Indices

Index	Value	% Change
S&P 500	1,102.35	+0.58%
S&P 100	511.88	+0.50%
Nasdaq 100	1,799.37	+0.54%
Nasdaq Composite	2,190.86	+0.33%
Dow Jones I.A.	10,405.83	+0.67%