Stocks closed in positive territory to end a choppy trading day. After a rough start stocks followed world markets slightly higher as worries about a possible credit downgrade of French banks receded. Best Buy fell 6.5% after disappointing earnings. Tech stocks performed well with Cisco and Microsoft in the spotlight. Cisco expects its annual sales to rise 5% to 7% over the next three years and forecasted gross margins of 60% to 62% for the fiscal year ending in July 2012. Microsoft gave developers an early look at its Windows 8 operating system, which will emphasize its ease of use with mobile devices. Apple gained 1.23% after Morgan Stanley analyst said that with $76 billion in cash, Apple “is more likely than ever to return cash to shareholders” in either the form of a dividend payment or stock buyback. Among other tech stocks, gains came from IBM, Google, Intel and Dell. Also, in the evening trade Dell rose 2% after the co. said its board has authorized an additional $5 billion for stock repurchases. Implied volatility inched lower on modest trading volumes.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Rose for the second session
Stocks closed in positive territory to end a choppy trading day. After a rough start stocks followed world markets slightly higher as worries about a possible credit downgrade of French banks receded. Best Buy fell 6.5% after disappointing earnings. Tech stocks performed well with Cisco and Microsoft in the spotlight. Cisco expects its annual sales to rise 5% to 7% over the next three years and forecasted gross margins of 60% to 62% for the fiscal year ending in July 2012. Microsoft gave developers an early look at its Windows 8 operating system, which will emphasize its ease of use with mobile devices. Apple gained 1.23% after Morgan Stanley analyst said that with $76 billion in cash, Apple “is more likely than ever to return cash to shareholders” in either the form of a dividend payment or stock buyback. Among other tech stocks, gains came from IBM, Google, Intel and Dell. Also, in the evening trade Dell rose 2% after the co. said its board has authorized an additional $5 billion for stock repurchases. Implied volatility inched lower on modest trading volumes.
