Techs shine, Nasdaq up over 2 pct and energy falls
|
|
|
By Cal MankowskiNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Thursday as investors snapped up technology bellwethers, including Apple Inc and IBM , and a stronger dollar eased investor worries about high energy costs and inflation.Shares of Apple and BlackBerry device maker Research In Motion Ltd helped drive the Nasdaq up more than 2 percent.As tech shares gained, energy companies' stocks fell, a trend aided by disappointing quarterly results from oil company Exxon Mobil Corp .Crude oil futures for June fell $2.56, sinking below $111 per barrel. The S&P index of energy shares <.GSPE> dropped 3.6 percent.The dollar rose to a five-week high against the euro, knocking commodity prices lower a day after the Federal Reserve had said it was worried about rising inflation expectations.On Wednesday afternoon, the Fed cut its benchmark fed funds rate by one-quarter point to 2.0 percent, a reduction that was in line with the market's expectations.."It has been a traditional inverse relationship over time that as crude and commodities weaken, people gravitate toward the tech group, which is still out of favor," said Ned Riley, chief executive of Riley Asset Management, in Marshfield, Massachusetts.Riley said that tech companies are likely to be the group with the strongest earnings over the next year and a half, while energy companies face a squeeze on profit margins.The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 131.74 points, or 1.02 percent, to 12,951.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 15.92 points, or 1.15 percent, to 1,401.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 55.06 points, or 2.28 percent, to 2,467.86.Stocks extended early gains after news that an index of manufacturing was higher than expected in April, although the sector has now contracted for three straight months.Apple got a boost from an announcement that it would begin selling movie downloads on its iTunes service on the same day that the films are released in DVD form For details see . Apple's stock jumped 2.4 percent to $178.07 on Nasdaq,RIM shares climbed 4.3 percent to $126.82 on the Nasdaq.IBM shares rose 2.4 percent to $123.59 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of chip maker Intel Corp , another technology bellwether, were up 5 percent at $23.34.Financial shares were another bright spot as investors bet that receding inflationary pressures would boost prospects for a further reduction in interest rates. Citigroup shares climbed 4.2 percent to $25.98 on the NYSE.Retailers also shot higher, with the S&P retail index <.RLX> up 3.9 percent.But Exxon's shares declined 4.7 percent to $88.72 on the NYSE, making the stock the top drag on both the Dow and the S&P 500.(Reporting by Cal Mankowski; additional reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Jan Paschal)
(c) Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
US economists: 'Jobless' recovery to reach bottom at start of 2010
Washington - The US economy will start adding jobs some time in the first quarter of 2010, ending a so-called jobless recovery that has plagued the world's largest economy since the summer months, according to a survey released Monday. But the Nati...
Hershey, Nestle, sweeten war for Cadbury
Washington - Hershey and Nestle are expected to jump into the war over Cadbury sweets, media reports said Saturday, just weeks after the British-based stalwart rejected a hostile bid by US Kraft Inc. The growing market for chocolate in the developing...
US stock drop slightly on Dell profits, mixed for week
New York - Technology and energy shares pushed US stocks lower Friday, capping a mixed week for investors amid unease about the pace of the world's economic recovery. Tech stocks slid after a disappointing earnings report from computer giant Dell, wh...
GM: Opel restructuring plan by mid-December; cuts up to 25 per cent
Washington - US carmaker General Motors will present a new restructuring plan for its European operations by mid-December, Nick Reilly, the new head of GM Europe, wrote on his new blog Friday. While the details were still being hashed out, Reilly war...
US stock sell-off on fears of weak recovery
New York - US stocks followed global markets in a broad decline amid investor fears over the world's uneasy recovery from recession. Major US stock indices fell about 1 per cent on average, following hefty declines in the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 and Japan's...
US leading economic indicator gains 0.3 per cent
Washington - A key measure of US economic performance gained in October, according to a private research group Thursday, signalling that a broader recovery may be taking hold. The New York-based Conference Board's Leading Economic Index added 0.3 per...
US stocks fall slightly on technology earnings
New York - US stocks posted modest losses Wednesday on poor profit forecasts from technology firms and a surprising dip in home construction. Earnings from Salesforce.com and Autodesk were worse than expected. Other technology shares losing ground in...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
