Markets Rally On Better Than Expected GDP; Dow Has Best Close In More Than A Month

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday after government data showed the U.S. economy grew 3.5 percent in the third quarter, better than the 3.0 percent expected.

Investors brushed off a poor reading on the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits, which rose last week in favor of GDP data; this may validate the economy is performing well enough for the Fed to end its QE program.

The Dow was boosted by Visa Inc V, which reported a better than expected profit along with an encouraging outlook. The S&P 500 briefly flirted with the 2,000-level before slightly retracting.

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• The Dow gained 1.30 percent, closing at 17,195.42, its highest close since September 24
• The S&P 500 gained 0.62 percent, closing at 1,994.65.
• The Nasdaq gained 0.37 percent, closing at 4,566.14.
• Gold lost 2.17 percent, trading at $1,198.30 an ounce.
• Oil lost 1.28 percent, trading at $81.15 a barrel.
• Silver lost 4.60 percent, trading at $16.47.

News Of Note

Initial Jobless Claims rose 3,000 to 287,000 (versus consensus of 280,000) from last week. Continuing claims rose 29,000 to 2.38 million.

Third Quarter GDP rose 3.5 percent (versus expectations of 3.0 percent) after rising 4.6 percent last quarter.

Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to 37.2 from 37.7 last week.

EIA Natural Gas Inventory rose 87 bcf (versus expectations of 85 bcf) after rising 94 bcf last week.

Brazil's central bank surprisingly raised its benchmark Selic rate by 25 basis points to 11.25 percent.

Analyst Upgrades And Downgrades of Note

Analysts at Deustche Bank upgraded Ally Financial Inc ALLY to Buy from Hold with an unchanged $26 price target. Shares lost 0.13 percent, closing at $22.79.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating on Baidu Inc BIDU with a price target raised to $275.20 from a previous $251.60. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $237.46 before closing the day at $237.01, up 5.55 percent.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of Deckers Outdoor Corp DECK with an Overweight rating and $105 price target. Shares gained 2.99 percent, closing at $87.79.

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Analysts at Mizuho Securities initiated coverage of Kate Spade & Co KATE with a Neutral rating and $28 price target. Shares lost 0.77 percent, closing at $27.14.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW to Buy from Neutral with a price target raised to $63 from a previous $58. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $56.56 before closing the day at $56.27, up 0.82 percent.

Analysts at Albert Fried downgraded Pandora Media Inc P to Underweight from Market Perform with a price target lowered to $16 from a previous $20. Shares hit new 52-week lows of $18.51 before closing the day at $18.74, down 2.55 percent.

Analysts at Barclays maintained an Overweight rating on Phillips 66 PSX with a price target raised to $112 from a previous $109. Shares gained 1.32 percent, closing at $77.40.

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Sprint Corporation S to Neutral from Underperform with a $6 price target. Shares finished the day unchanged at $6.00.

Analysts at Ascendiant Capital initiated coverage of Tesla Motors Inc TSLA with a Buy rating and $320 price target. Shares gained 0.24 percent, closing at $238.66.

Analysts at Nomura maintained a Buy rating on United States Steel Corporation X with a price target raised to $55 from a previous $48. Shares lost 2.84 percent, closing at $38.94.

Analysts at FBR Capital upgraded Visa to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target raised to $260 from a previous $250. Analysts at Credit Suisse maintained an Outperform rating with a price target raised to $260 from a previous $250. Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus maintained a Buy rating with a price target lowered to $280 from a previous $281. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $239.28 before closing the day at $236.65, up 10.24 percent.

Analysts at Barclays maintained an Overweight rating on Wynn Resorts, Limited WYNN with a price target raised to $190 from a previous $181. Shares gained 0.93 percent, closing at $187.65.

Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating on Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM with a price target lowered to $74 from a previous $79. Shares gained 0.53 percent, closing at $69.98.

Equities-Specific News Of Note

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT is considering expanding its price matching guarantee to include online rivals. Shares gained 0.08 percent, closing at $76.45.

Microsoft Corporation MSFT unveiled its first wearable device named Microsoft Band with a starting price of $199. Shares lost 1.22 percent, closing at $46.05.

According to Bloomberg, Perrigo PRGO is in exclusive talks to acquire Omega Pharma for more than four billion euros. Shares of Perrigo gained 4.08 percent, closing at $161.33.

Yahoo! YHOO hired Amazon.com's former display ad boss Lisa Utzschneider as SVP of Americas sales. Shares of Yahoo gained 0.44 percent, closing at $45.63.

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Kandi Technologies KNDI said that it expects to deliver 1,000 electric vehicles to the city of Chengdu by the end of the year for a car-sharing program. Shares gained 4.26 percent, closing at $16.16.

Autodesk ADSK plans to invest $100 million in 3D printing technology companies and individuals over the next several years. Shares gained 2.52 percent, closing at $57.37.

AstraZeneca AZN received FDA approval for its diabetes pill, Xigduo XR. Shares gained 1.50 percent, closing at $72.60.

Winners Of Note

Lakeland Industries, Inc. LAKE said last night that its monthly production capacity for its protective suits has risen by more than 50 percent since August due to Ebola concerns. Shares gained 22.97 percent, closing at $14.24.

Decliners Of Note

The SEC previously announced it will open an inquiry into American Realty Capital Properties' ARCP accounting errors. Shares continued to sell-off today, hitting new 52-week lows of $9.12 before closing the day at $9.42, down 5.80 percent.

Earnings Of Note

Xcel Energy XEL reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.73 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75. Revenue of $2.87 billion missed the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $33.76 before closing the day at $33.52, up 2.04 percent.

Time Warner Cable TWC reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $1.86 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90. Revenue of $5.71 billion missed the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Shares lost 0.61 percent, closing at $142.88.

Teva Pharmaceutical TEVA reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $1.32 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22. Revenue of $5.06 billion missed the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $56.70 before closing the day at $56.47, up 3.63 percent.

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Ocwen Financial OCN reported its third quarter results this morning. The company lost $0.58 per share, which may not be comparable to the consensus estimate of a profit of $0.63 per share. Revenue of $513.7 million missed the consensus estimate of $542.76 million. Shares gained 11.29 percent, closing at $23.16.

Mastercard MA reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.87 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78. Revenue of $2.50 billion beat the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Shares gained 9.32 percent, closing at $83.07.

Kellogg Company K reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.94 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92. Revenue of $3.64 billion missed the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Shares gained 2.51 percent, closing at $64.04.

LinkedIn Corp LNKD reported its third quarter results after market close. The company earned $0.52 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47. Revenue of $568.0 million missed the consensus estimate of $557.49 million. Shares were trading higher by 0.46 percent at $203.83 following its earnings report.

Starbucks SBUX reported its fourth quarter results after market close. The company earned $0.74 per share, in line with the consensus estimate. Revenue of $4.18 billion missed the consensus estimate of $4.23 billion. Shares were trading lower by 4.81 percent at $73.60 following its earnings report.

GoPro Inc GPRO reported its third quarter results after market close. The company earned $0.12 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08. Revenue of $280.0 million beat the consensus estimate of $263.60 million. Shares were trading higher by 5.86 percent at $72.25 following its earnings report.

Quote Of The Day

"He's always been associated with our game and he's Gordie Howe, 'Mr. Hockey."' – Detroit Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland commenting on the NHL legend following a massive stroke earlier this week.