Stocks closed higher in choppy trading, after Greece said it had an austerity deal and jobless claims fell again last week. Initial claims dropped by 15,000 last week to 358,000, showing signs of improvement in job market. Tech stocks were lifted by Apple which surged 3.5% to a new record high after a report said the co. would introduce its next-generation iPad tablet in early March. Prior to the opening bell, Needham and Canaccord Genuity raised their price targets on Apple, citing improved sales outlooks for products such as the iPhone, the iPad and the Mac. Yahoo rose 1.4% on continued speculation that the company may soon unveil a plan for its holdings in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. Cisco lost more than 2% as its Q3 earnings forecast was in line with previous estimates. LinkedIn and Activision Blizzard each advanced after the closing bell following better-than-expected quarterly results, gaining 8.85% and 0.7% respectively. Implied volatility inched higher on massive trading volumes.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Extended gains on Greek deal and news from Apple
Stocks closed higher in choppy trading, after Greece said it had an austerity deal and jobless claims fell again last week. Initial claims dropped by 15,000 last week to 358,000, showing signs of improvement in job market. Tech stocks were lifted by Apple which surged 3.5% to a new record high after a report said the co. would introduce its next-generation iPad tablet in early March. Prior to the opening bell, Needham and Canaccord Genuity raised their price targets on Apple, citing improved sales outlooks for products such as the iPhone, the iPad and the Mac. Yahoo rose 1.4% on continued speculation that the company may soon unveil a plan for its holdings in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. Cisco lost more than 2% as its Q3 earnings forecast was in line with previous estimates. LinkedIn and Activision Blizzard each advanced after the closing bell following better-than-expected quarterly results, gaining 8.85% and 0.7% respectively. Implied volatility inched higher on massive trading volumes.
