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NEW YORK - US stocks gained ground Friday as upbeat corporate earnings reports helped extend this week's powerful rally celebrating a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.49 points (0.39 percent) to close at 13,820.19 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 16.93 points (0.64 percent) to 2,671.22.
The broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 6.97 points (0.46 percent) to 1,525.72.
Positive corporate earnings from Oracle and Nike announced after the market closed Thursday lifted sentiment in a day bereft of economic data.
"We had some good corporate news that is helping some sectors," said Peter Cardillo of Avalon Partners.
Wall Street's bullish sentiment revived after Thursday's modest drift lower in profit taking after a strong two-day rally that saw the Dow industrials adding more than 400 points.
The surge was triggered by the Fed's reduction Tuesday of its base federal funds rate by a hefty half point, to 4.75 percent. The Fed had held the rate steady at 5.25 percent since June 2003.
"On the happy side, the recent Fed rate cut reduces substantially the risk of a recession and immediately improved spirits in the credit market," said Al Goldman of AG Edwards.
"The dominant market mood is one of only very cautious optimism which is a healthy environment."
Gregory Drahuschak at Janney Montgomery Scott said that "for the intermediate-term, stocks should continue to respond to the recent rate cuts and the probability of one or more cuts ahead."
But he said some pullback might be expected.
"After this week's move up, we would be a little careful about how next week begins," he said. "A little pullback would not be surprising early in the week. Also, earnings season is approaching rapidly. Despite the focus on the rate cuts, earnings outlooks that will accompany third quarter reports will be important."
Oracle jumped 4.42 percent to 21.98 dollars after the software maker posted a 25 percent profit gain in its first fiscal quarter.
Nike ended 1.82 percent lower at 57.26 dollars after spending most of the session in positive territory. The athletic shoe and apparel company reported net income jumped 51 percent in its first fiscal quarter, beating Wall Street expectations. The earnings result benefited from an exceptional tax benefit.
Oil shares gained on high crude prices. ExxonMobil climbed 0.24 percent to 92.31 dollars, Chevron gained 0.71 percent at 94.84 and ConocoPhillips rose 0.60 percent to 88.94.
The bond market firmed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond dropped to 4.632 percent from 4.672 percent late Thursday and that on the 30-year Treasury fell to 4.891 percent from 4.944 percent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
- AFP /ls
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