4:23 PM, Apr 20, 2011 --
- NYSE up 125.62 (+1.5%) to 8,457.65
- DJIA up 186.8 (+1.5%) to 12,453.54
- S&P 500 up 17.74 (+1.4%) to 1,330.36
- Nasdaq up 57.54 (+2.1%) to 2,802.51
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
- Hang Seng up 1.6%
- Nikkei up 1.76%
- FTSE up 2.03%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) INTC beats with results.
(+) YHOO continues evening gain that followed earnings beat, guidance that straddles Street view.
(+) ONCY reports positive data.
(+) DPL sold to AES for $30 per share.
(+) ALU inks partnership with China Mobile.
(+) ALV beats profit forecasts and raises sales outlook.
(+) ELN tops Q1 estimates.
(+) PCG put on Goldman's Conviction Buy list.
(+) IBM declines after earnings beat.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) MTG sales beat as loss wider than expected.
(-) ABT beats with results.
(-) T meets with Q1 results.
(-) CREE sees continued downside reaction to earnings miss.
(-) MO results beat year-ago quarter, backs EPS guidance.
(-) WFC beats with EPS, misses with revenue.
MARKET DIRECTION
Stocks bounced back from early-week losses as corporate earnings take center stage and divert attention - temporarily at least - from concerns over U.S. debt raised earlier this week. A boost in existing home sales also provided support. Apple (AAPL) keeps the earnings news flowing, with its results out after the bell.
In the latest economic data, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that existing home sales increased 3.7% from a month earlier to 5.10 million. Economists expected home sales to rise by 2.5% to 5.0 million, according to MarketWatch.
Adding to the upbeat tone, analyst notes hitting overnight suggested the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to keep reinvesting maturing assets after it completes its $600 billion Treasury-buying program in June.
Intel Corp. (INTC), up 6.5% late, posted the biggest percentage gain on the Dow after reporting first-quarter earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, and provided a second-quarter revenue outlook that also topped Street estimate.
IBM (IBM) traded in soggy fashion after a beat, but not the more aggressive hike to its outlook as some analysts expected.
Oil advances some 3% on a weaker dollar, encouraging housing data and an unexpected weekly decline in inventories. June crude futures closed up $3.17 at $111.45 a barrel. That's the highest close since April 8.
In other company news:
Yahoo (YHOO) gained after Goldman Sachs raised its estimates through 2013, theStreet.com reports. Goldman says revenue per search should improve by the end of the year, the story said. Goldman maintains a neutral rating with a new $19 price target, the story said.
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) was higher after it says it and China Mobile (CHL) have inked a wide-ranging, joint, memorandum of understanding to pursue pioneering developments in next generation mobile communications, including further co-development around Alcatel-Lucent's powerful lightRadio technology. China Mobile is the biggest mobile operator by subscribers in the world, the release says.
Shares of YUM Brands (YUM) are higher ahead of the company's earnings report due tomorrow morning. The Street is looking for per-share earnings of $0.64 on revenue of $2.4 billion, The company has large exposure in China, notes The Street.com. That means eyes will be on the company as a proxy for how that economy is doing, the report notes.
DPL (DPL) agreed to be bought by AES Corporation (AES) in a transaction with an enterprise value of $4.7 billion, including a total equity value of $3.5 billion. AES will acquire all of the outstanding shares of DPL for approximately $3.5 billion in cash, or $30 per share. The transaction is expected to close in the next six to nine months.
Wells Fargo (WFC) reported Q1 EPS of $0.67, a penny better than the analyst consensus on Thomson Reuters. Revenue was $20.3 billion, shy of the Street estimates of $21.2 billion.
