Wall St surges after jobless claims fall
Thursday, October 09 15:49:58
[some Irish news..pb]
Share prices on Wall Street surged in early trading today as investors welcomed news that US jobless claims fell to their lowest level in eight months and solid earnings from internet giant Yahoo.
By mid-morning, the Dow Jones was up 87.34 points to 9,718.24 and the Nasdaq jumped 31.61 points to 1,925.39.
Jobless claims in the US fell to their lowest levels since February and, at 382,000, dipped below the 400,000 mark that signals expansion in the labour market.
Investors welcomed the news as jobless data has stayed stubbornly negative since the beginning of the year, contrary to more upbeat indicators for recovery elsewhere in the economy.
Corporate news also supported the day's rally with Yahoo reporting better-than-expected third quarter results. The firm reported earnings of 10c a share, up from 5c a share in the year-earlier period, and above analysts' expectations of 9c. Sales rose 43pc to USD356m, topping expectations of USD337.8m. Shares surged almost 6pc in early deals.
Shares of biotech firm Genentech rose 2pc after strong sales of its drug Rituxan and Herceptrin produced a 70pc annual profit boost. Genentech is awaiting regulatory approval for colon-cancer treatment Avastin, a drug whose clinical trial success has helped to double the share price since mid-May.
Shares in the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, gained 2.8pc after it said that same store sales rose 6pc in the third quarter, a full percentage point higher than both its own and analysts' expectations.
At the higher end of the US retail market, Macy's and Bloomingdale's owner Federated Stores said that its same-store sales rose an unexpectedly strong 3.2pc year-on-year in September, prompting the chain to boost its profit outlook. The stock rose 1.5pc.
businessworld.ie |
