Stocks erased early losses and ended higher after the Federal Reserve said it plans to keep interest rates near historic lows through late 2014. The Fed also said it expects the unemployment rate to fall to 8.2% -8.5%, and the economy to grow 2.2%- 2.7% in 2012, slightly slower than it had previously thought. Also, pending home sales dropped by 3.5% in December, after rising 7.3% in the prior month. Apple led tech gains, rising 6.2% to close at new all-time high after brilliant earnings report. Advanced Micro Devices gained 3.1% despite weaker-than-expected revenue and a sales outlook. The sector was taking hits from a rash of financial reports from Corning, Motorola Solutions and weak Nvidia sales forecast. In the evening trade Netflix surged 14% following solid quarterly results, while SanDisk lost 8.4% following a soft outlook. Implied volatility inched lower in massive trading.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Erased early losses after the Fed’s report
Stocks erased early losses and ended higher after the Federal Reserve said it plans to keep interest rates near historic lows through late 2014. The Fed also said it expects the unemployment rate to fall to 8.2% -8.5%, and the economy to grow 2.2%- 2.7% in 2012, slightly slower than it had previously thought. Also, pending home sales dropped by 3.5% in December, after rising 7.3% in the prior month. Apple led tech gains, rising 6.2% to close at new all-time high after brilliant earnings report. Advanced Micro Devices gained 3.1% despite weaker-than-expected revenue and a sales outlook. The sector was taking hits from a rash of financial reports from Corning, Motorola Solutions and weak Nvidia sales forecast. In the evening trade Netflix surged 14% following solid quarterly results, while SanDisk lost 8.4% following a soft outlook. Implied volatility inched lower in massive trading.
