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Dow's first close above 11,900
By Anuj Gangahar in New York
Published: October 13 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 13 2006 03:00
US stocks rallied strongly yesterday as the market welcomed strong earnings reports from companies such as McDonald's and Harley Davidson. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 11,900 for the first time.
Oil prices had earlier fallen to their lowest this year in advance of the US government's weekly report on fuel.
McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant chain and a Dow component, said yesterday that its preliminary third quarter profits rose to 68 cents per share, ahead of analyst estimates.
The company also reported an 8.4 per cent rise in system-wide sales, better than the 7 per cent gain in revenue forecast by analysts. Its shares rose 2.38 per cent, or 98 cents, to $42.23.
PepsiCosaid third quarter profit rose nearly 71 per cent, helped by strength in its international business, non-carbonated drinks and salty snacks. The beverage and snacks company also lifted its forecast for the year. In spite of this, PepsiCo shares fell 1.58 per cent to $62.85.
The S&P 500 closed up1 per cent, or 12.87 points, at 1,362.82. The Nasdaq composite was up 1.6 per cent, or 371.91 points, at 2,346.18.
The Dow closed at a record high of 11,948.26, up 0.8 per cent, or 96.13 points for the day, the first time it has closed above the 11,900 barrier.
The US trade gap rose to a record level in August with imports outstripping exports by $69.9bn, according to the commerce department, up from the previous record of $68bn set in July.
Alfred Goldman, of AG Edwards, said the upward movement of stocks was in spite of certain factors that might have been expected to have more of a negative impact recently.
"This market has been ignoring several good excuses to go lower , such as North Korea's nuclear test," he said.
He added that the Dow Jones was up 10 per cent in the past two and half months, and that the market should be careful of going too far, too fast.
Early yesterday, wholesale retailer Costco reported better-than-expected results and said it did not expect to restate results after a review of its stock option programme.
Costco shares rose 7.65 per cent, or $3.83, to $53.90.
Harley Davidson, the motorcycle maker, said its earnings climbed 18 per cent in the most recent quarter, beating Wall Street forecasts.
Its shares rose 2.7 per cent to $64.88.
Shares in Systemax, the computer parts and hardware distributor, plunged after the company said it would delay reporting of its second quarter results because it needed more time to complete the process.
Shares in the company were down 21.54 per cent, or $3.24, at $11.80.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
Now if my Dad had not lost his butt on all that Cisco stock, I'd feel better. At least is was not Enron. Wall Street: your downtown New York casino.I know that Wartman thinks no one should listen/read my posts, but whatever. Here is Friday's close:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/dec4e534-5a56-11db-8f16-0000779e2340.html
Considering our economy is designed to continually grow this is really nothing to celebrate.
Cheers
...
The Dow rose 10.97, or 0.09 percent, to 12,127.88, eclipsing the record close of 12,116.91 set Monday. The Dow also set a new trading high of 12,133.80, edging past a day-old record of 12,125.16 before giving back some of its gains.
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