Stocks rose after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke gave investors reason to believe that the central bank would continue to do its part to help the economy. Also, the FHFA reported home prices rose 0.6% and the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index climbed 0.2% in December. New-home sales rose 15.6% in January to an annual rate of 437,000, the highest mark since July 2008. Consumer confidence index climbed to 69.6, exceeding estimates of 62.3. Home Depot rose 5.7% after the co. reported strong year-end results, providing more evidence of a housing rebound, raised its dividend and approved a $17 billion stock buyback. Macy's added 2.8% after the company reported a 20% increase in fourth quarter profits and a 3.7% increase in sales at stores open for more than one year. Best Buy and JPMorgan Chase announced that they would cut 400 and 4,000 positions respectively as parts of their cost-cutting plans. Apple rose 1.4% on speculations about the possibility of the company announcing a stock split at its annual meeting on Wednesday. Intel gained 1.7% after the co. said it would begin making chips on the part of Altera in a move that could help Intel with costs associated with developing new chip technologies. In the evening trade Priceline.com rose 3.2% after quarterly adjusted earnings surpassed analysts’ expectations, while a weak outlook from First Solar prompted a selloff.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Gained on Bernanke statement and strong housing data
Stocks rose after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke gave investors reason to believe that the central bank would continue to do its part to help the economy. Also, the FHFA reported home prices rose 0.6% and the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index climbed 0.2% in December. New-home sales rose 15.6% in January to an annual rate of 437,000, the highest mark since July 2008. Consumer confidence index climbed to 69.6, exceeding estimates of 62.3. Home Depot rose 5.7% after the co. reported strong year-end results, providing more evidence of a housing rebound, raised its dividend and approved a $17 billion stock buyback. Macy's added 2.8% after the company reported a 20% increase in fourth quarter profits and a 3.7% increase in sales at stores open for more than one year. Best Buy and JPMorgan Chase announced that they would cut 400 and 4,000 positions respectively as parts of their cost-cutting plans. Apple rose 1.4% on speculations about the possibility of the company announcing a stock split at its annual meeting on Wednesday. Intel gained 1.7% after the co. said it would begin making chips on the part of Altera in a move that could help Intel with costs associated with developing new chip technologies. In the evening trade Priceline.com rose 3.2% after quarterly adjusted earnings surpassed analysts’ expectations, while a weak outlook from First Solar prompted a selloff.
