STOCKS NEWS US-Markets open up after Disney, Penney results

Stocks on the move Real-time Equity news U.S. stock market report 0942 EST 13Nov2009-Markets open higher after Disney, Penney results ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, lifted by better-than-expected results from Dow component Walt Disney Co and JC Penney Co Inc. Disney posted its results after the bell on Thursday. For details, see The Dow Jones industrial average gained 18.74 points, or 0.18 percent, to 10,216.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.42 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,088.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.25 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,152.27. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0903 EST 13Nov2009-J.B. Hunt Transport restarted as 'outperform' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wells Fargo Securities resumed coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc with an "outperform" rating on Friday. The firm cited the trucking company's above-average revenue visibility as well as margin expansion opportunities. Wells recommended the company as "a core holding for transportation investors." For details, see Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0900 EST 13Nov2009-Union, supermarket chains in pact, averting Arizona strike ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Arizona union workers have reached a tentative agreement with Kroger Co and Safeway Inc, averting a strike that had been scheduled to begin on Friday. The union plans to submit the tentative pact reached late Thursday night to its members and recommend approval, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 99, Kroger and Safeway said on Friday. The companies agreed to extend their existing contract pending the outcome of that vote, the parties said. For details, see Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0853 EST 13Nov2009-UBS starts Microsoft at "buy" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ UBS started coverage on Microsoft Corp with a "buy" rating on Friday. "With newfound religion on expenses, we think the key to Microsoft's stock in 2010 is the positive earnings leverage that it should generate from a pickup in enterprise demand," the firm wrote to clients. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0849 EST 13Nov2009-Wells Fargo upgrades Qualcomm to "outperform" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shares of Qualcomm Inc rose in premarket trading on Friday after Wells Fargo Securities upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "market perform." The firm said some of the key risks facing the company, including a license dispute with Nokia, litigation with Broadcom Corp and license negotiation with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd had been eliminated. For details, see Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0846 EST 13Nov2009-Trade gap widens 18.2 pct in September ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The U.S. trade deficit widened in September by an unexpectedly large 18.2 percent, the most in more than 10 years, as oil prices rose for the seventh straight month and imports from China bounded higher, the government reported on Friday. The monthly trade gap grew to $36.5 billion from a slightly revised estimate of $30.8 billion in August. Economists expected the shortfall to grow modestly in September to around $31.65 billion. For details, see Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0840 EST 13Nov2009-Import prices rise 0.7 pct in October ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. import prices rose for the third straight month in October on a jump in the cost of fuel imports and the depreciating dollar, the government said on Friday. The Labor Department reported import prices advanced 0.7 percent after a revised 0.2 percent increase in September that was previously reported as a 0.1 percent gain. However, the increase in import prices was below market expectations for a 1.0 percent rise. For details, see Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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