Stock Market News for October 12, 2010

Stocks closed with slender gains as traders refrained from placing bigger bets ahead of a busy earnings week. With focus turning toward the earnings season, market participants appeared less interested in Fed’s expected intervention to help bring the economic growth back on track. However, last Friday’s weak payroll report did not appear to have deterred investors.

Major indexes could not take a broad lead and somehow managed to close in the green. The blue-chip Dow average maintained its perch above the 11,000 mark. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index closed with a gain of less than one point while the broader S&P’s 500-stock index closed with a gain of 2 points. The bond market and government offices were closed for the Columbus Day holiday. On the New York Stock Exchange trading volume plunged to 788 million shares as advancing shares beat those that fell in price by an 8-to-7 margin.

The market’s measure of volatility, the CBOE Vix plunged 8.5% to below 20, signaling equities were preparing to retrace their April highs. Gold prices continued higher on their appeal as a currency hedge, closing the day at $1,354.40, up $9.10.

Technology companies were in the green yesterday. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - Analyst Report), which comes out with its earnings today, edged up 0.2%, to $19.56. Shares in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Analyst Report) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Analyst Report) hit record highs in intraday trading before retreating a little. Apple hit an all-time high of $297.24 before closing at $295.36. IBM (NYSE:IBM - Analyst Report) hit a record high of $139.94 before closing at $139.66. 

Shares in Gymboree (NASDAQ:GYMB) jumped 22.4% to $64.83 after the company said it had agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Bain Capital in a $1.8 billion deal.

DJIA components Boeing (NYSE:BA - Analyst Report) and JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM - Analyst Report) led on the upside, both adding 1.1% to their previous day’s tally. Leading on the downside, DuPont (NYSE:DD - Analyst Report) and 3M (NYSE:MMM - Analyst Report) fell 1.2% and 1%, respectively.

Among S&P500 industry sectors, oil and gas, consumer services, telecommunications shares added 0.2% while consumer goods, health care, utilities and technology shares closed up with gains of 0.1% each. Industrial shares fell 0.2%, while basic materials and financials dropped 0.1%.

This morning Saudi Arabia noted OPEC will likely stick to current production levels at its summit Thursday. The news shifted traders’ focus towards US crude stockpiles, which are close to the top of their five-year ranges. According to Platts, today’s American Petroleum Institute weekly inventory report is expected to show a 1.5 million barrel build in crude stockpiles.

Asian markets were weak today following reports that Beijing has raised capital requirements for some major banks in an attempt to tighten noose on lending. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225-stock average plunged 2.1% as the yen continued its recent upswing against the US dollar, touching a fresh 15-year high. Meanwhile, the Treasury is scheduled to auction $33 billion in new 3-year notes later today.

Read the full analyst report on INTC

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Read the full analyst report on IBM

Read the full analyst report on GYMB

Read the full analyst report on BA

Read the full analyst report on JPM

Read the full analyst report on DD

Read the full analyst report on MMM