Market stuck in listless trade in early hours, but managed to settle with gains after natural resource plays provided an afternoon lift. Housing starts and building permits both increased more than expected in March (7.2% and 11.2% respectively). Johnson & Johnson was the top performer, after the co. reported better-than-expected sales and earnings. Goldman Sachs and Texas Instruments were the worst-performers. Tech stocks finished higher as reaction to earnings report from Seagate, as well as anticipation over the quarterly reports from industry leaders. Research In Motion fell almost 3%, after the co. released its new PlayBook tablet. Intel soared almost 5% in after-hours trading after the company reported earnings surge on strong chip sales. IBM reported better-than expected results and raised its full-year earnings forecast. Yahoo gained 4.5% with its first-quarter profit down from a year ago, but still above expectations.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Rebounded on earnings optimism
Market stuck in listless trade in early hours, but managed to settle with gains after natural resource plays provided an afternoon lift. Housing starts and building permits both increased more than expected in March (7.2% and 11.2% respectively). Johnson & Johnson was the top performer, after the co. reported better-than-expected sales and earnings. Goldman Sachs and Texas Instruments were the worst-performers. Tech stocks finished higher as reaction to earnings report from Seagate, as well as anticipation over the quarterly reports from industry leaders. Research In Motion fell almost 3%, after the co. released its new PlayBook tablet. Intel soared almost 5% in after-hours trading after the company reported earnings surge on strong chip sales. IBM reported better-than expected results and raised its full-year earnings forecast. Yahoo gained 4.5% with its first-quarter profit down from a year ago, but still above expectations.
