Date: Thursday 22 Jul 2010
Wall Street powered forward thanks to another strong round of corporate earnings and better than expected housing data.
Dow Jones closed up 201 points to 10,322, while the Nasdaq has gained 58 points to 2,245. The S&P 500 gained 24 points to 1,093.
Purchases of existing houses dropped 5.1% to an annualised rate of 5.37m, according to the National Association of Realtors. That was a lower reduction than expected.
Not all the economic news was good. The index of US leading indicators fell 0.2% in June.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims surged more than 8% to a seasonally adjusted 464,000 in the week ended 17 July. Analysts were looking for 445,000 initial claims.
Yesterday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated to the US congress that the US economy would avoid falling into another recession in the near term. Economic growth would allow the Fed to tighten its monetary policy eventually, he added. Bernanke will testify for a second day today.
After hours, Microsoft underlined why it is still the number one technology company with fourth quarter net income up 48%, to $4.5bn, and earnings of 51c, well ahead of forecasts. Sales rose 22% to a record $16bn.
Strong sales of Windows 7 and an improving PC market drove the results. "We saw strong sales execution across all of our businesses, particularly in the enterprise with Windows 7 and Office 2010," said Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer. On the downside, search engine Bing lost $696m in the quarter and the Xbox was $172m in the red.
Earlier, banks were strong after good figures from Fifth Third Bancorp. American Express, SunTrust Banks and Marshall & Ilsley all rose in sympathy. In contrast, insurer Travelers Company is the only faller on the Dow after payouts for floods and storms reduced its second quarter earnings.
Pharma group Eli Lilly saw second quarter net profit rise to $1.35bn, beating Wall Street expectations, thanks to strong sales growth from its top drugs.
Caterpillar also reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday. The construction and mining equipment maker’s second quarter profit rose to $707m from $371m a year earlier, helped by a sharp increase in machinery sales.
"We continue to be positive about the longer-term prospects for many of the industries we serve--like mining, energy, infrastructure, electric power and rail," said chairman and chief executive Jim Owen.
E-bay reported better than expected second quarter earnings but warned that forex movements will hit full year earnings and revenues.
Royal Caribbean Cruises is on the rise after it raised its full year profit forecast and fellow cruise operator Carnival rose in sympathy.
Dow Jones closed up 201 points to 10,322, while the Nasdaq has gained 58 points to 2,245. The S&P 500 gained 24 points to 1,093.
Purchases of existing houses dropped 5.1% to an annualised rate of 5.37m, according to the National Association of Realtors. That was a lower reduction than expected.
Not all the economic news was good. The index of US leading indicators fell 0.2% in June.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims surged more than 8% to a seasonally adjusted 464,000 in the week ended 17 July. Analysts were looking for 445,000 initial claims.
Yesterday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated to the US congress that the US economy would avoid falling into another recession in the near term. Economic growth would allow the Fed to tighten its monetary policy eventually, he added. Bernanke will testify for a second day today.
After hours, Microsoft underlined why it is still the number one technology company with fourth quarter net income up 48%, to $4.5bn, and earnings of 51c, well ahead of forecasts. Sales rose 22% to a record $16bn.
Strong sales of Windows 7 and an improving PC market drove the results. "We saw strong sales execution across all of our businesses, particularly in the enterprise with Windows 7 and Office 2010," said Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer. On the downside, search engine Bing lost $696m in the quarter and the Xbox was $172m in the red.
Earlier, banks were strong after good figures from Fifth Third Bancorp. American Express, SunTrust Banks and Marshall & Ilsley all rose in sympathy. In contrast, insurer Travelers Company is the only faller on the Dow after payouts for floods and storms reduced its second quarter earnings.
Pharma group Eli Lilly saw second quarter net profit rise to $1.35bn, beating Wall Street expectations, thanks to strong sales growth from its top drugs.
Caterpillar also reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday. The construction and mining equipment maker’s second quarter profit rose to $707m from $371m a year earlier, helped by a sharp increase in machinery sales.
"We continue to be positive about the longer-term prospects for many of the industries we serve--like mining, energy, infrastructure, electric power and rail," said chairman and chief executive Jim Owen.
E-bay reported better than expected second quarter earnings but warned that forex movements will hit full year earnings and revenues.
Royal Caribbean Cruises is on the rise after it raised its full year profit forecast and fellow cruise operator Carnival rose in sympathy.
AmeriCredit rallied after General Motors offered to buy the automobile financing company for $3.5bn.
S&P 500 - Risers
Janus Capital Group Inc. (JNS) $10.59 +11.83%
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) $12.43 +10.18%
SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) $24.58 +9.63%
Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (MI) $7.27 +9.49%
Total System Services Inc. (TSS) $15.33 +8.26%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) $49.00 -8.12%
Amerisource Bergen Corp. (ABC) $29.63 -7.44%
Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX) $42.12 -6.82%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $28.16 -6.69%
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) $72.24 -4.88%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $66.60 +5.41%
American Express Co. (AXP) $43.19 +4.96%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $69.53 +3.73%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $37.73 +3.20%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.27 +3.15%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $49.29 -1.16%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $57.02 -0.18%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $35.18 -0.03%
S&P 500 - Risers
Janus Capital Group Inc. (JNS) $10.59 +11.83%
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) $12.43 +10.18%
SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) $24.58 +9.63%
Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (MI) $7.27 +9.49%
Total System Services Inc. (TSS) $15.33 +8.26%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) $49.00 -8.12%
Amerisource Bergen Corp. (ABC) $29.63 -7.44%
Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX) $42.12 -6.82%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $28.16 -6.69%
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) $72.24 -4.88%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $66.60 +5.41%
American Express Co. (AXP) $43.19 +4.96%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $69.53 +3.73%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $37.73 +3.20%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.27 +3.15%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $49.29 -1.16%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $57.02 -0.18%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $35.18 -0.03%
No comments:
Post a Comment