Stock Market News for October 23, 2009

After sliding for two successive days, stocks managed to find some footing and ended Thursday with impressive gains as companies from McDonald’s to PNC Financial reported solid quarterly earnings.  A mixed bag of economic reports notwithstanding, the Dow average once again scaled the 10,000 mark as components Travelers Cos, 3M Co., and AT&T Inc. posted stronger-than-expected results.

Investors, looking for bargains, picked up financial shares as many banks noted lower loan losses.  Travelers (NYSE:TRV - Snapshot Report) surged almost 8% after reporting a three-fold jump in quarterly profit.  Travelers, together with McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD - Analyst Report), led the Dow average higher.  AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Analyst Report), also a Dow component, rose 0.6% after reporting better-than-expected profit.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 132 points, or 1.3%, to close at 10,081.31 and the S&P 500 index rose 11 points, or 1%.  The tech-heavy NASDAQ, limited by late-session, downward guidance from eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Analyst Report), gained 14 points, or 0.7%.

The New York Times Co. (NYSE:NYT - Snapshot Report) was the leading gainer among the S&P 500 stocks, surging 23%, after reporting improved quarterly profit helped by cost-cutting measures.  3M (NYSE:MMM - Analyst Report) beat both earnings and sales estimates for the quarter and raised its 2009 guidance. Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW - Analyst Report) also reported better-than-expected profit report.

Among financial stocks, PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC - Snapshot Report), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Analyst Report) and Sun Trust Banks Inc. (NYSE:STI - Snapshot Report) said borrowing costs were declining and they were offering lower deposit rates.  Shares in all three companies recorded gains.   

Commodity prices declined as the greenback remained neutral, and with larger-than-expected Treasury bond auction scheduled for next week, the 10-year declined 8/32 in price.  The market’s measure of volatility, the CBOE Vix, eased to 20.69, off almost 7%.  This rally, nevertheless, appears to be taking a cue from corporate results rather than backward-looking economic data.  And yesterday's reports affirmed hopes for a sustainable recovery.

Today's calendar covers additional key corporate releases from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Snapshot Report), Honeywell (NYSE:HON - Analyst Report), Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE:IR - Analyst Report), and Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO - Snapshot Report).