Stocks advanced for a third straight session, rising to fresh six-month highs, following solid gains in financials with stronger than expected quarterly results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Also, weekly unemployment claims fell to 352,000, down sharply from 402,000 claims in the previous week, and consumer prices were flat last month. Housing starts fell 4.1% in December to a seasonally adjusted 657,000 annualized units. Tech stocks closed in the green following strong earnings from eBay and F5 Networks. In the evening trade Google stumbled 9% as its quarterly growth coming in lower than expected, while Microsoft, IBM and Intel each moved higher following upbeat financial updates. Implied volatility inched lower on massive trading volumes.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Boosted on banks and economic data
Stocks advanced for a third straight session, rising to fresh six-month highs, following solid gains in financials with stronger than expected quarterly results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Also, weekly unemployment claims fell to 352,000, down sharply from 402,000 claims in the previous week, and consumer prices were flat last month. Housing starts fell 4.1% in December to a seasonally adjusted 657,000 annualized units. Tech stocks closed in the green following strong earnings from eBay and F5 Networks. In the evening trade Google stumbled 9% as its quarterly growth coming in lower than expected, while Microsoft, IBM and Intel each moved higher following upbeat financial updates. Implied volatility inched lower on massive trading volumes.
