Stocks turned in an uninspired day of trading as investors weighed slowing retail sales with slightly upbeat earnings reports. Retail sales inched up 0.1% in January, following a 0.5% rise in the previous month. On the corporate front, Deere reported quarterly earnings that topped expectations, but the co. said economic uncertainty and government policy are "undermining business confidence and restraining growth." Gains from Groupon, Amazon.com and Netflix countered losses in the tech sector. Groupon rose 5.4% after Sterne Agee raisedits rating to buy from neutral and set a $9-a-share price target. Amazon rose 4.2% after the co. announced an expanded content-licensing agreement with CBS Corp. Netflix gained 4.7% after J.P. Morgan raised its price target to $205 a share from $180 as recent meetings with company management suggest that Netflix’s original series “House of Cards” is off to a strong start just 12 days after release. Dell gave up 0.2% after Bernstein Research cut its rating to market perform, or neutral, from outperform. In the evening trade Cisco fell 1.8% after the co. reported solid earnings, but issued weaker-than-expected forecast.Overall, 65% of the companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings have beat analysts' expectations, but the bulk of companies issued negative guidance for the first quarter.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Gained on Groupon, Amazon and Netflix
Stocks turned in an uninspired day of trading as investors weighed slowing retail sales with slightly upbeat earnings reports. Retail sales inched up 0.1% in January, following a 0.5% rise in the previous month. On the corporate front, Deere reported quarterly earnings that topped expectations, but the co. said economic uncertainty and government policy are "undermining business confidence and restraining growth." Gains from Groupon, Amazon.com and Netflix countered losses in the tech sector. Groupon rose 5.4% after Sterne Agee raisedits rating to buy from neutral and set a $9-a-share price target. Amazon rose 4.2% after the co. announced an expanded content-licensing agreement with CBS Corp. Netflix gained 4.7% after J.P. Morgan raised its price target to $205 a share from $180 as recent meetings with company management suggest that Netflix’s original series “House of Cards” is off to a strong start just 12 days after release. Dell gave up 0.2% after Bernstein Research cut its rating to market perform, or neutral, from outperform. In the evening trade Cisco fell 1.8% after the co. reported solid earnings, but issued weaker-than-expected forecast.Overall, 65% of the companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings have beat analysts' expectations, but the bulk of companies issued negative guidance for the first quarter.
