The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 89 points to 13,090.95 (0.69%), the NASDAQ rose more than 68 points (2.3%) to 3,029.63, and the S&P 500 rose 1.37% or nearly 19 points to 1,390.70.
There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Apple raised to ‘outperform’ at Scotia and maintained ‘buy’ with a target price of $775 at Canaccord Genuity; J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) raised to ‘market perform’ at BMO; McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) started as ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; and Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank.
Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Apple is up 8.9% at $610.02 (our coverage here); Anixter International Inc. (NYSE: AXE) is down -4% at $66.76; Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) is up 11.5% at $81.74; Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) is down -4% at $20.78; Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) is up 3.6% at $72.77; Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE: NFX) is up 5.2% at $35.47; AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) is down -0.9% at $33.27; Clayton Williams Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: CWEI) is up 1.6% at $76.45; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) is up 6.7% at $14.25; Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) is up 6.1% at $53.45 after posting a new 52-week high of $53.98 earlier today; Lithia Motors Inc. (NYSE: LAD) is up 7.4% at $26.84; and US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) is up 2.5% at $9.55 (more coverage here).
Other standouts from today include the following stocks:
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is down -4.5% at $103.55. The heavy equipment maker reported declining sales in China as growth in the country has slowed, which led to the sell-off today.
CNH Global NV (NYSE: CNH) is up 3.6% at $45.66. The farm equipment maker beat EPS estimates by almost 50% and sales were also higher.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is up 5.3% at $77.06. The aircraft maker reported solid earnings and revenues this morning. More coverage here.
Stay tuned for Thursday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):
- 8:30 a.m. – New unemployment benefits claims
- 8:30 a.m. – Chicago Fed national activity index
- 10:00 a.m. – Pending home sales index
- 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
- 11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index
- 1:00 p.m. – 7-year note auction
- 4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply
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Paul Ausick
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