Stock Market News for April 23, 2010 - Market News
President Obama’s conciliatory tone on financial reform sent traders back on the buying table around midday after Moody’s downgrade of Greece’s credit rating and uncertainty about the country’s financial system resulted in a sharp sell off in the morning session.
The Dow Jones industrial average, down 108 points in the morning trading, closed up 9 points, as several companies reported results that beat analysts’ projections. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.73 points, or 0.2%, to 1,208.67, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 14.46, or 0.6%, to 2,519.07. Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing shares topped losers by two to one on volume of 1.25 billion shares.
Economic data also helped lift sentiments higher. A better-than-anticipated report on existing home sales sent shares in homebuilders higher. Lennar (NYSE:LEN) shares jumped 6.6%, Beazer Homes (NYSE:BZH) 6.9%, and KB Home (NYSE:KBH) 6.3%.
Nevertheless, first-quarter earnings report appeared to be driving much of the stock price gains. Shares in Baxter (NYSE:BAX) plunged 13.3% after the firm cut its 2010 earnings projection, citing costs associated with the healthcare overhaul. Nokia (NYSE:NOK) dropped 13.1% after the firm missed its profit targets. The firm lowered margin assumptions due to increased competition from rivals Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). However, shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) are up in pre-market trading, with gains of 1.3% and 5.6%, respectively, after the companies reported higher-than-expected earnings after the close.
This morning Greece's Prime Minister officially requested activation of the EU/IMF bailout package, lifting the euro from its lowest level of the year and sending commodity prices higher. The debt crisis in Greece has impacted euro’s credibility even as countries such as Portugal find themselves in a debt quagmire.
On the earnings front, results are due from Dover (NYSE:DOV), Exelon (NYSE:EXC), Honeywell (NYSE:HON), Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), Travelers (NYSE:TRV), and Xerox (NYSE:XRX).
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