Dow Jones and Nasdaq Rise in Late Morning Trading
Wall Street turned higher Tuesday as investors contended with conflicting data: declining sales at Home Depot Inc. last quarter and a Federal Reserve governor's encouraging assessment of the housing market.
The world's largest home improvement retailer reported that sales at its stores open more than a year dropped in the fourth quarter, indicating that consumers' appetite for home improvement goods is still dwindling due to the sluggish housing market.
Also adding to worries that Americans aren't buying as much as investors previously thought, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s revenue came in below the average analyst forecast.
"We're always fascinated with the consumer, so we're taking their temperature constantly. That has been the driving force behind the economy," said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
But comments from outgoing Fed Governor Susan Bies, who said the country may be seeing a bottom in slumping demand for housing, lifted stocks. Worries that the downturn in housing will drag down the rest of the economy have plagued stocks even as they've climbed to new highs in recent sessions.
There was some initial excitement in the market over the deal between XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. But investors grew wary as they looked more closely at the details of the deal -- whether the satellite radio merger is giving XM shareholder's stock a high enough premium, and whether the deal will actually happen, given the regulatory obstacles the companies must overcome.
In late morning trading, the Dow was up 6.57, or 0.05 percent, at 12,774.14, recovering from an earlier loss. Despite its choppy start, the Dow reached a new trading high of 12,780.15 after rising more than 200 points over the past four trading sessions. Markets were closed Monday for Presidents Day.
Broader stock indicators also turned higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2.27, or 0.16 percent, at 1,457.81, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 9.09, or 0.36 percent, at 2,505.40.
Published by APLabels: HD, Hot Stocks, SIRI, WMT, XMSR
posted by Stock Administrator @ 11:44 AM
Dow Jones and Nasdaq Rise in Late Morning Trading
Wall Street turned higher Tuesday as investors contended with conflicting data: declining sales at Home Depot Inc. last quarter and a Federal Reserve governor's encouraging assessment of the housing market.
The world's largest home improvement retailer reported that sales at its stores open more than a year dropped in the fourth quarter, indicating that consumers' appetite for home improvement goods is still dwindling due to the sluggish housing market.
Also adding to worries that Americans aren't buying as much as investors previously thought, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s revenue came in below the average analyst forecast.
"We're always fascinated with the consumer, so we're taking their temperature constantly. That has been the driving force behind the economy," said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
But comments from outgoing Fed Governor Susan Bies, who said the country may be seeing a bottom in slumping demand for housing, lifted stocks. Worries that the downturn in housing will drag down the rest of the economy have plagued stocks even as they've climbed to new highs in recent sessions.
There was some initial excitement in the market over the deal between XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. But investors grew wary as they looked more closely at the details of the deal -- whether the satellite radio merger is giving XM shareholder's stock a high enough premium, and whether the deal will actually happen, given the regulatory obstacles the companies must overcome.
In late morning trading, the Dow was up 6.57, or 0.05 percent, at 12,774.14, recovering from an earlier loss. Despite its choppy start, the Dow reached a new trading high of 12,780.15 after rising more than 200 points over the past four trading sessions. Markets were closed Monday for Presidents Day.
Broader stock indicators also turned higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2.27, or 0.16 percent, at 1,457.81, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 9.09, or 0.36 percent, at 2,505.40.
Published by AP
The world's largest home improvement retailer reported that sales at its stores open more than a year dropped in the fourth quarter, indicating that consumers' appetite for home improvement goods is still dwindling due to the sluggish housing market.
Also adding to worries that Americans aren't buying as much as investors previously thought, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s revenue came in below the average analyst forecast.
"We're always fascinated with the consumer, so we're taking their temperature constantly. That has been the driving force behind the economy," said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
But comments from outgoing Fed Governor Susan Bies, who said the country may be seeing a bottom in slumping demand for housing, lifted stocks. Worries that the downturn in housing will drag down the rest of the economy have plagued stocks even as they've climbed to new highs in recent sessions.
There was some initial excitement in the market over the deal between XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. But investors grew wary as they looked more closely at the details of the deal -- whether the satellite radio merger is giving XM shareholder's stock a high enough premium, and whether the deal will actually happen, given the regulatory obstacles the companies must overcome.
In late morning trading, the Dow was up 6.57, or 0.05 percent, at 12,774.14, recovering from an earlier loss. Despite its choppy start, the Dow reached a new trading high of 12,780.15 after rising more than 200 points over the past four trading sessions. Markets were closed Monday for Presidents Day.
Broader stock indicators also turned higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2.27, or 0.16 percent, at 1,457.81, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 9.09, or 0.36 percent, at 2,505.40.
Published by AP
Labels: HD, Hot Stocks, SIRI, WMT, XMSR
posted by Stock Administrator @ 11:44 AM
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