Home
Investment
News & Views
Company News
news storage
US close: S&P rises for 5th day in a row
Wed, 08 Feb, 2012
INVESTMENT NEWS
Company Search
Search QCK.COM
Investment Home
News & Views
Top Stories
Charting
Company Search
Watchlist
Market Reports
Market Buzz
Company News
Economic News
New Issues
Other News
US close: S&P rises for 5th day in a row
Thu, 4 Mar 2010, 23:16:00
After a mid-morning wobble shares kicked on again in the afternoon session ahead of Friday’s keenly awaited non-farm payrolls data. Expectations of better news on the jobless front were raised by payrolls processing firm ADP which said that private sector firms chopped payrolls by 20,000 in February, the 25th month in a row in which the number of job cuts declined, and the lowest monthly change since January 2008. First-time unemployment claims fell by 29,000 to 469,000 last week, the US Labor Department reported. Meanwhile US productivity increased by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, demonstrating that employers are squeezing the most out of employees, while freezing or cutting wages. Data showing pending home sales fell by 7.6% in January was less well received but a number of retailers boosted sentiment with February sales figures that were better than forecast given the snow storms that hit many parts of the US. Clothing retailer <b>Abercrombie & Fitch</b> reported a 5% increase in February like-for-like sales. This made it the biggest riser in the S&P. <b>Aeropostale</b>, the clothing chain focused on the youth market, saw like-for-like sales rise 7% in February versus market expectations of 4%, while <b>Zumiez</b>, which targets the skateboard and snowboard crowd, also topped expectations with like-for-like sales growth in February of 11.2%. Elsewhere in the retail sector <b>Family Dollar Stores</b> was wanted after it upped second quarter earnings guidance while in similar fashion <b>Petsmart</b> bounded forward after raising earnings guidance for the full year and its first quarter. Sportswear retailer <b>Foot Locker</b> legged it higher after the board extended the company’s share buy-back programme. The Dow Jones 30-share index was boosted by broker upgrades for three of its constituents. Bank of America raised <b>Walt Disney</b> from neutral to buy. The move was sparked by new film releases Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3. Meanwhile fizzy drinks maker <b>Coca-Cola</b> and aircraft maker <b>Boeing</b> both saw their ratings raised by UBS. The Dow closed 47 points higher at 10,444, while the S&P 500 advanced 4 points to 1,122. The NASDAQ Composite jumped 11 points to 2,292. Healthcare insurers were under the weather on fears that President Obama’s healthcare reforms are finally moving closer to fruition. <b>UnitedHealth</b> was the major faller in the sector but <b>Aetna</b> and <b>Cigna</b> also fell back. Internet computers operator <b>VeriSign</b> reached its highest share price for 18 months. Lazard increased its target price from $25 to $29. <b>TiVo</b>, the company whose name is synonymous with digital video recorders in the US, was boosted by a court ruling in its favour on patent infringements by satellite TV company <b>Dish Network</b>. Takeover speculation pushed <b>AK Steel</b> higher. In excess of 72,000 call options to buy the stock were traded, the highest level since May of last year and 13 times the moving four-week average. <b>S&P 500 - Risers</b> Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) $41.52 +14.57% Family Dollar Stores (FDO) $35.24 +8.07% American International Group Inc. (AIG) $26.71 +7.36% A K Steel Holdings Corp. (AKS) $24.37 +6.84% <b>S&P 500 - Fallers</b> Southwestern Energy (SWN) $40.77 -4.05% International Game Tech (IGT) $17.17 -3.54% Unitedhealth Group (UNH) $32.95 -3.37% Nabors Inds Inc. (NBR) $22.50 -3.02% <b>Dow Jones I.A - Risers</b> Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $32.57 +2.94% Boeing Co. (BA) $65.55 +1.71% American Express Inc. (AXP) $38.89 +1.59% United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $70.37 +1.11% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $54.47 +1.00% <b>Dow Jones I.A - Fallers</b> McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $63.43 -0.31% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $58.45 -0.20% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $37.14 -0.19% International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $126.72 -0.13% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $31.44 -0.10% <b>Nasdaq 100 - Risers</b> Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $51.24 +3.63% Verisign Inc. (VRSN) $26.16 +3.19% Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $34.21 +2.43% <b>Nasdaq 100 - Fallers</b> Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $20.81 -4.13% Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $354.49 -2.29% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $34.54 -1.88%
©2004-2009 QCK.com
