Stocks closed higher, with modest gains following upbeat data on U.S. private-sector job growth and activity in the services sector. Private payrolls rose by 162,000 in September, more than the 152,000 consensus, and lower than the prior month’s revised gain of 189,000. The ISM services sector index for September also topped expectations, coming in at 55.1% versus 53.7% in August, with the latest level the best since March. Tech stocks managed to hold onto slight despite a sharp sell-off on Hewlett-Packard, which tumbled nearly 13%, closing at the lowest level since November of 2002. H-P CEO Meg Whitman warned that the coming fiscal year will be a “fix and rebuild year” and said that the co. expects adjusted earnings of $3.40-$3.60 a share, well below $4.18 a share expected. Chip stocks also took a hit after Pacific Crest reduced its estimates for AMD, Marvell Technology and Nvidia, and downgraded Texas Instruments to sector perform, citing “tepid demand” which has led to “risk of excess inventory.” Meanwhile, Netflix jumped 10.8% after Citigroup reiterated a buy rating on the stock citing “a highly reasonable valuation, a generally positive execution track record, and the still early market opportunity for Internet video streaming.” Electronic Arts rose 1.58% after the co. reported selling more than 4.5 million units of its “FIFA Soccer 13” title in its first five days of release. MetroPCS closed down 9.8% after Deutsche Telekom said it has agreed to merge T-Mobile USA with the pre-paid wireless carrier company. Rival Leap Wireless shed 17.9%. Also, Best Buy rallied 4.66% on a media report that its founder and buyout companies were reviewing the electronic retailer’s books. In the evening trade Applied Materials was unchanged after the co. announced plan to cut 900-1,300 positions, or 6-9% of its total workforce, as part of a restructuring.
