Stocks Struggle to the Finish; Banks, Techs Gain - Market Overview * US * News * Story

LATEST STOCK MARKET DATA

Hot & Cold Sectors
Tracking the major movements across the best & worst performing industry sector indexes.
Dow Components
Top Gainers & Losers
Major Indexes & Stocks to Watch

MORE HEADLINES

Markets | Economy | Companies

- Next Week: Cash In Now Or Wait For A Santa Rally?

LATEST FROM OUR BLOGS

- Portfolio Prep for Next Week: 'Don't Get Crazy'

FEATURED SLIDESHOWS

Runway Angels
The superbowl of fashion shows, models walk down the runway at the 2009 Victoria's Secret Show.
Smartphone Guide
Here's a need-to-know guide to nine devices, based on features, price, network and platform.
Wines for the Holidays
Not quite sure what wine to pair with Turkey or Creme Brulee? Our experts do.

FEATURED QUIZZES

How Well Do You Know Your Bird?
Let's talk turkey. Test your turkey knowledge and perhaps pick up a bit of trivia to trot out at your holiday meal.
A Healthier & Wealthier You
Take the following quiz and find out how much you know about the impact of obesity on the health of the U.S. economy.
The Billionaire BFF's
Philanthropists. Bridge partners. Hockey players. Which responses are based on facts from Buffett's and Gates' real lives?

SPECIAL REPORTS

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.

CNBC ON DIGG

Stocks Struggle to the End; Banks, Techs Gain

Published: Wednesday, 7 Oct 2009 | 5:30 PM ET

Text Size

By: Cindy Perman
Writer

Stocks struggled to the very end Wednesday as banks and techs gained but investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the start of earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed about 5 points, or less than a tenth of a percent. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq gained 0.3 percent.

Major U.S. Indexes

.DJIA

.NCOMP

.SPX

Techs started to push higher after an analyst upgrade on Cisco. Banks also gained after a couple of upgrades on the sector recently as analysts say stocks valuations are too low for earnings potential.

This comes after a two-day rally, in which stocks gained 2.6 percent, as recent data points have revitalized optimism about the recovery.

Earnings season unofficially kicked off after the bell today, with the first Dow component, Alcoa [AA Loading... () ], reporting after the bell.

Analysts say companies are going to have to bring it this quarter: They're looking for revenue growth, not just an improved bottom line due to cost-cutting measures. Plus, they'll also be looking at companies' outlooks for signs of the recovery.

And that's exactly what Alcoa delivered: The aluminum giant beat on both earnings and revenue.

Alcoa was the biggest gainer on the Dow, up 2.2 percent, during regular trading, and

After the bell, the stock jumped more than 5 percent.

Still, the overall season is expected to be bumpy: The current expectations are for a 25-percent drop in the blended earnings of S&P 500 companies.

DuPont [DD Loading... () ] slipped 0.3 percent after the chemicals maker said it doesn't expect earnings to match 2008 levels until 2012.

Costco [COST Loading... () ] and Family Dollar [FDO Loading... () ] beat expectations this morning, an encouraging sign for the retail sector ahead of September chain-store sales, due out tomorrow.

Analysts say a few retailers could beat tomorrow, helped by a cool September.

FOR INVESTORS

Financials gained 1.2 percent after Wells Fargo raised its rating on Bank of America [BAC Loading... () ] to "outperform," the latest in the string of upgrades on the sector.

Bank of America was the second-biggest percentage gainer on the Dow, up 2.1 percent, followed by JPMorgan [JPM Loading... () ], up 1.8 percent.

Citigroup [C Loading... () ] shed 0.6 percent. The bank is said to be exploring a possible sale of its Phibro commodities unit — that's the one with the star trader due a $100 million pay package.

Cisco [CSCO Loading... () ] gained 1.1 percent after a William Blair analyst upgraded his rating on the stock to "outperform" from "market perform." The analyst said Cisco is winning new deals and generally benefiting from the recovery amid pent-up demand.

Microsoft [MSFT Loading... () ] finished flat after CEO Steve Ballmer said he doesn't expect the launch of Windows 7 to boost PC sales.

Amazon [AMZN Loading... () ] was the top percentage gainer on the Nasdaq, up 3.4 percent, after the online marketplace lowered the price of its Kindle e-reader, while expanding its marketing overseas.

Google [AMZN Loading... () ] jumped 3.8 percent after the search engine said the worst of the advertising slump was over.

Rumor has it that News Corp. [NWS Loading... () ] chief Rupert Murdoch is in Asia right now, scouting out potential partners for his own e-reader. Shares of News Corp. rose 0.7 percent.

Anheuser-Busch InBev [BUD Loading... () ] announced that it's selling its theme-parks division, which include SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, to private-equity firm Blackstone Group for at least $2.3 billion.

Avis Budget Group [CAR Loading... () ] dropped 5.9 percent after the car-rental company warned that a transaction against it could impact earnings. Avis on Tuesday offered $250 million in notes along with a warrant transaction.