Skip navigation
Stocks Video Gallery
The take up rate for China Minsheng Bank's retail subscription should be good, believes Steve Tse, research manager at B...
Although Robert Rennie, currency strategist at Westpac Bank, does not see too much movement in the New Zealand dollar in...
CNBc's Larry Kudlow recommends saving American capital for jobs.
Insight on Treasury Secretary Geithner's take on the economy and the dollar, from the Asia Summit, with Ken Heebner, Cap...
Highlights from what the world's two richest men have to say about the economy, with CNBC's Oriel Morrison.


Current DateTime: 08:58:56 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33482595

Current DateTime: 08:58:56 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 08:58:56 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611
  • The Billionaire BFF's

      Philanthropists. Bridge partners. Hockey players. Which responses are based on facts from Buffett's and Gates' real lives?

  • The Many Myths of Coca-Cola

      Can you tell which statements are true, and which ones are just rumors?

  • Think You Understand Markets?

      We've selected some questions from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's test of investor knowledge. See how you do ...


Current DateTime: 08:58:56 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

  • Alternative Investing

      Stocks and bonds? Sure. But it's a big world out there for investors.

powered by digg
By: Cindy Perman, CNBC.com | 16 Apr 2008 | 04:53 PM ET
Text Size

Stocks finished at their highs for the day Wednesday as investors cheered the latest round of earnings, which included Intel and JPMorgan.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.1 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 2.8 percent, while the S&P 500 index gained 2.3 percent.

Major U.S. Indexes
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

"I think we had great news from Intel, we had good news from Coke, we had good news from JPMorgan and put all that together I think investors emerged from their bomb shelters and bought some stocks today," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Bank in Chicago.

"I think overall analysts are still very optimistic [about earnings] for the whole year but I think that once they start to lower their expectations, stocks can move higher," Ablin said. "I think the first and second quarters will be equally ugly."

JPMorgan Chase [JPM  Loading...      ()   ] , the top gainer on the Dow, jumped 6.3 percent after the investment bank reported its profit fell 50 percent to $2.37 billion, or 68 cents a share, but beat earnings expectations.

Wells Fargo [WFC  Loading...      ()   ] also beat estimates. The fifth-largest bank reported its net fell 11 percent to $2 billion, or 60 cents a share, hit by credit problems. Analysts had expected earnings of 57 cents.

The S&P financial-sector index jumped 3.3 percent.

(Click here for an S&P 500 earnings scorecard, with 10 percent of companies reporting.)

Intel [INTC  Loading...      ()   ], the Dow's second biggest gainer, reported after the closing bell Tuesday. The chip giant met earnings expectations and raised its forecast for the current quarter, saying it expects sales of $9 billion to s$9.6 billion, compared with current estimates of $9.24 billion. Intel also gave a boost to other tech stocks, including Sandisk [SNDK  Loading...      ()   ], which jumped 7.6 percent.

Fellow Dow component Coca-Cola [KO  Loading...      ()   ] also topped forecasts, reporting its profit rose 19 percent to $1.50 billion, or 64 cents a share, helped by solid overseas sales.

Offering some encouragement for Thursday's trading, IBM [IBM  Loading...      ()   ] after the closing bell reported net income rose 26 percent to $2.32 billion. Total revenue, of which two-thirds comes from outside the U.S., increased 11 percent. Shares jumped in after-hours trading as two key metrics met expectations: hardware and services sales. Analysts had been concerned that, since a quarter of services revenue comes from financial firms, it might fall short, but it didn't.

IBM chief Sam Palmisano also gave the market a shot in the arm, saying, "We feel good about the rest of the year."

Also reporting after the bell, eBay [EBAY  Loading...      ()   ] reported its net rose 22 percent, surpassing expectations. The online auctioneer, which is in the midst of an overhaul to promote long-term growth, also boosted it its 2008 revenue forecast by 2 to 3 percent, pegging revenue between $8.7 and $9 billion.

Meanwhile, there were some earnings disappointments.

Seagate Technologies [STX  Loading...      ()   ] reported its profit rose 62 percent but the world's largest computer disk-drive maker missed expectations and lowered its forecast. The San Francisco company said profit margins have been squeezed by falling prices but demand -- at the consumer and corporate level -- remains strong despite the worsening economy.

Four brokerages cut their price targets on Seagate stock, but kept their ratings, which ranged from "neutral" to "strong buy."

Merrill Lynch [MER  Loading...      ()   ] may need to raise more capital, senior executives told CNBC, contradicting comments from CEO John Thain last week. And, Merrill may write down between $6 billion and $8 billion more, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. Merrill shares were off 0.8 percent premarket. The bank is also preparing a cost-saving plan that will include job cuts of 10 percent to 15 percent in some struggling business areas, such as bond financing, the paper said. Still, Merrill shares gained 3.6 percent.

This came on top of dismal earnings from Washington Mutual [WM  Loading...      ()   ]. The largest U.S. savings and loan posted a $1.14 billion first-quarter loss, hurt by mounting credit losses as more mortgage borrowers fall behind on payments.

And U.S. money manager BlackRock [BLK  Loading...      ()   ] reported its earnings rose 24 percent but still fell short of estimates.

In Europe, battered bank UBS [UBS  Loading...      ()   ] cut its dividend by a third, based on current stock prices, as it moved to a stock dividend from cash to shore up its equity base.

Merck [MRK  Loading...      ()   ] was the biggest decliner on the Dow, shedding 2.2 percent, after two articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that Merck had manipulated dozens of clinical-research articles on Vioxx.

Shares of J.C. Penney [JCP  Loading...      ()   ] slipped 3.4 percent after Chief Executive Myron Ullman said the department-store operator would no longer provide annual guidance. Ullman said this is probably the most unpredictable environment he's seen in the 39 years he's been in the business. The remarks came a day after Ullman said the retailer would need more time to meet its five-year growth plan.

In economic news, nine of 12 Federal Reserve branches reported signs of economic weakening in their respective regions, the central bank said. Price pressures were up, crimping profit margins and leaving labor markets soft. Even commercial real estate in New York and San Francisco, previously resilient areas, began to show cracks in prices.

Among other economic news released today, consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in March, held down by a second straight monthly drop in clothing prices. Housing starts fell 11.9 percent last month, while building permits slipped 5.8 percent. Industrial production unexpectedly rebounded in March, climbing 0.3 percent.

Crude oil [US@CL.1  Loading...      ()   ] soared to new highs above $114 a barrel on Wednesday, after the EIA's weekly report showed crude supplies unexpectedly fell by 2.3 million barrels. The dollar hit a new low against the euro.

This Week:

THURSDAY: Merrill Lynch, Nokia, Pfizer, Capital One, Google earnings; jobless claims; Philly Fed report; leading indicators; Fed's Kohn, Fisher speak
FRIDAY: Caterpillar, Citigroup, Honeywell, Xerox earnings; Fed's Lacker, Rosengren speak

Send comments to .

© 2009 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Warren Buffett and Bill Gates spoke to Columbia students, and Buffett made the students a startling offer.
  • They may have wrecked their companies or saved our economy. Tell us what you think.
  • Big pharma embraces social media, but how much should a tightly regulated sector say on Facebook or Twitter?
  • A European dating site finds lovelorn singles from one country to be consistently uglier. Which is it?
  • Contributor David Pogue looks at two of the latest efforts to perfect the digital pocket camera.
  • PepsiCo is ramping up its onsite health facilities for workers.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 02:33:17 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 11:27:47 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 05:29:42 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:00:12 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters