Stocks Climb, Dow Rallies 100; Apple Lower - CNBC Stocks Climb, Dow Rallies 100; Apple Lower - CNBC

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Stocks Climb, Dow Rallies 100; Apple Lower - CNBC

Stocks Climb, Dow Rallies 100; Apple Lower - CNBC

Stocks clawed higher to near session highs in volatile trading Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reversing their earlier losses.

Stocks had been mixed for most of the session, pressured by a weaker-than-expected new home sales report and disappointing results from Apple.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped, led by Boeing [BA  Loading...      ()   ] and AT&T [T  Loading...      ()   ] after logging its third triple-digit decline.

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq recovered their losses. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, slid near 20.

Most key S&P sectors turned higher again, led by telecoms, while techs sagged.

“It’s clear that things are slowing down in the U.S. and around the world,” said John Fox, co-manager of the FAM Value Fund. “There’s been no change in Europe and economic reports in the U.S. have been mixed.”

On the economic front, new home sales dropped 8.4 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted 350,000-unite annual rate, according to the Commerce Department. The percent decline was the biggest in more than a year. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 370,000-unit rate.

Apple [AAPL  Loading...      ()   ] suffered its biggest one-day drop this year after the iPhone missed quarterly results by a wide margin and handed in current-quarter guidance that disappointed analysts. In addition, at least six brokerages cut their price targets on the firm. Apple's weak results will likely weigh on the tech sector. (Read More: Trading Apple's Miss)

Among other earnings, Caterpillar [CAT  Loading...      ()   ] topped Wall Street's profit expectations and boosted its 2012 earnings forecast. Shares toggled in and out of negative territory in choppy trading following comments from the company's conference call that full-year sales will be lower than expected from Buycrus and worries over a weak underground coal market.

Fellow Dow component Boeing [BA  Loading...      ()   ] posted earnings that beat estimates as gains in airplane deliveries trumped higher pension costs.

PepsiCo [PEP  Loading...      ()   ] posted better-than-expected earnings, thanks to price increases, and maintained its full-year outlook.

Meanwhile, ConocoPhillips [COP  Loading...      ()   ] reported a decline in earnings, hurt by lower energy prices and a drop in output.

Netflix [NFLX  Loading...      ()   ] plunged more than 20 percent after the movie-streaming company issued a cautious subscriber outlook and said a push into a fourth international market in the fourth quarter will lead to a loss. But the company still topped earnings expectations. At least four brokerages lowered their price targets on the firm. Netflix shares have dropped almost 50 percent in the last six months.

Symantec [SYMC  Loading...      ()   ] jumped after the security-software maker unexpectedly ousted its CEO Enrique Salem, who had been under heavy criticism from investors for financial disappointments. Separately, the company announced a quarterly outlook that was below projections.

Worries over the euro zone subsided, at least temporarily, after ECB policymaker Ewald Nowotny raised the prospect of steps that could boost the firepower of the euro zone's new bailout fund.

But Spain's 10-year yield continued to rise, hitting a new record high of 7.75 percent, amid worries the country will need a full-scale bailout. And Germany's business confidence index fell for a third-consecutive month in July, touching the lowest level in more than two years.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned Congress that Europe's ongoing sovereign debt crisis and the looming budget crisis in Washington could weaken the U.S. economy. Geithner also added that regulators must enforce stricter oversight of the financial system to help stabilize the economy.

Weekly mortgage applications gained last week as record-low interest rates fueled demand for refinancing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Treasury prices were flat after the government auctioned $35 billion in 5-year notes at a high yield of 0.584 percent and bid-to-cover of 2.71.

—By CNBC’s JeeYeon Park (Follow JeeYeon on Twitter: @JeeYeonParkCNBC)

Coming Up This Week:

THURSDAY: Durable goods orders, jobless claims, pending home sales, 7-yr note auction, CFTC emergency meeting; Earnings from AstraZeneca, ExxonMobil, 3M, Credit Suisse, Dow Chemical, Pulte, Sprint, Amazon.com, Amgen, Facebook, Expedia, Starbucks
FRIDAY: GDP, consumer sentiment, summer Olympics start, 100 days to election; Earnings from Chevron, Merck, Barclays, DR Horton

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South African stocks inch higher, track global markets - Reuters

Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:51am EDT

* Top-40 rises 0.14 percent to 29,911.58

* All-share up 0.21 percent at 34,069.59

By Tiisetso Motsoeneng

JOHANNESBURG, July 24 (Reuters) - South African stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday on fresh hopes for a solution to the euro zone debt crisis, although gains were limited by nagging concerns about the global economy and a downbeat start on Wall Street.

The benchmark JSE Top-40 index added 0.14 percent to 29,911.58 and the broader All-share index gained 0.21 percent to 34,069.59.

"Economic data from Europe is not encouraging but some of these stocks have been hit hard in recent days and that has opened up an opportunity for bargain hunting," Kevin Algeo, a trader at Imara SP Reid said.

Equities worldwide gained some ground after a European Central Bank official raised the prospect of new steps to strengthen the euro zone's new bailout fund. But weak economic data from Germany and Britain capped further gains.

Truworths, South Africa's biggest listed clothes retailer, was the top performer of the blue-chip index, adding 3.57 percent to 98 rand, extending gains after saying full-year profit rose as much as 17 percent.

Wireless phones group MTN Group, a top three dividend payer on the benchmark index, climbed 2.6 percent to 147.15 rand.

Gold miners also featured on the gainers' list, helped by technical factors and higher bullion price. Harmony was up 3.4 percent to 75.68 rand, AngloGold Ashanti added 1.56 percent to 271.75 rand and Gold Fields edged up 0.6 percent to 103.66 rand.

On the downside, British American Tobacco dipped 1.5 percent to 436.10 rand after posting an expected 7 percent rise in half-year profit.

Chemicals and explosives maker AECI dropped 2.8 percent to 86.25 rand after reporting a 60 percent drop in first-half earnings.

Hit by an 84 percent drop in half-year earnings, ArcelorMittal's South African unit retreated 2.6 percent to 46.81 rand.

Trade was relatively slow, with 188 million shares changing hands on the JSE, compared with last year's daily average of 255 million shares. (Editing by David Dolan)


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