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Stock Market News for Feb 18, 2011
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ShareMarkets touched new multi year highs to end in the green after investors used lackluster economic reports as an opportunity to buy into market leaders.
On a sectoral basis, share prices of energy companies rose for the second consecutive day amid fresh tensions surrounding the Suez and protests in another oil rich country Bahrain. On Wednesday, the Philadelphia oil services index along with some other key indexes showed prices of crude were rising. Shares of Marathon Oil Corp (NYSE:MRO - Analyst Report), Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU - Analyst Report) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Analyst Report) gained 1.56%, 2.50%, and 1.66% to close at $50.08, $45.17, and $75.52 respectively.
Tulsa-based Williams’ (NYSE:WMB - Analyst Report) share prices increased 8.36% after the company announced plans to separate its exploration and production unit from its energy infrastructure unit. The company also said it was going to hike its dividends. Share prices of another energy company, El Paso Corp (NYSE:EP - Analyst Report) gained 3.87% to close at $18.00. Like Williams, the company is hive off its separate pipeline business. Eastman Chemical’s (NYSE:EMN - Analyst Report) board has approved its decision to repurchase its common stock worth up to $300 million. The shares of the company gained 2.62% to close at $96.27.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.24% to end at 12,318.14, recording its highest close since June 5, 2008. 20 out of 30 stocks of the blue chip index rose with Coca Cola Co (NYSE:KO - Analyst Report) gaining 1.81% to close at $64.55, making it the top gainer of the Dow. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index increased 0.3% to 1,340.43 registering its highest close since June 19, 2008. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% to close at 2,831.58. The Nasdaq gained 6.02 points and closed at its highest mark since October 31, 2007. The CBOE Volatility Index fell below 17. On the New York Stock Exchange, breadth of the market was positively biased as for every 3 stock that fell, 5 stocks ended in the green with 3.7 billion shares being traded.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve index which measures manufacturing activity increased 35.9 for February from 19.3 recorded in January. In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims rose 25,000 to a total of 410,000 last week. The Conference Board reported of an increase in leading indicators figures for January. The index increased for the seventh consecutive months climbing 0.1% to 112.3 after rising 0.8% in December. In other news, the Labor Department said consumer prices rose more than expected as the CPI gained 0.4% in January. The report said there was a possibility that higher food and fuel costs are directly affecting costs of other goods and services. Excluding volatile food and energy price, the core CPI rose 0.2%.
Coming to news of earnings and estimates, shares of Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA - Analyst Report) gained 9.8% after the chip maker released bullish revenue forecasts thanks to growing sales of its processors. Fourth quarter profits of Weight Watchers (NYSE:WTW - Snapshot Report), a provider of weight management services have more than doubled due to higher sales in its Internet business segment. The company’s share prices rocketed up 45.57% to close at $65.39. Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF - Analyst Report) shares rose 7.15% to $99.52 after the company reported its fourth quarter earnings results. Better sales have helped its quarterly profits to grow to nearly triple beating analysts’ expectations. Dr Pepper Snapple (NYSE:DPS - Analyst Report) reported its fourth quarter earnings results beating Street’s’ expectations. The company’s share prices increased 5.69% to $36.20 after the company forecasted a positive outlook. Share prices of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Analyst Report) gained 2.37% although the company’s earnings results came in short of analyst’s expectations.
Read the full analyst report on KO
Read the full analyst report on NVDA
Read the full analyst report on WTW
Read the full analyst report on CLF
Read the full analyst report on DPS
Read the full analyst report on DUK
Read the full analyst report on MRO
Read the full analyst report on SU
Read the full analyst report on COP
Read the full analyst report on WMB
Read the full analyst report on EP
Read the full analyst report on EMN
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