Coutts-US MIDDAY: STOCKS HOLD ON TO MODEST BOUNCE(ENP Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ENP Newswire – 05 February 2014 Release date- 04022014 – US stocks were holding on to modest gains on Tuesday as investors hunted for bargains in the aftermath of the market's worst sell-off in eight months.A less-than-expected decline in factory orders also helped to repair sentiment slightly this morning in New York. US factory orders fell by 1.5% in December after a revised 1.5% gain the month before; analysts had predicted a 1.8% fall. Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average registered their worst declines since June 2013 on Monday with the Dow reporting its seventh triple-digit loss of the year so far. This came after the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) index measuring activity within the manufacturing sector plunged to an eight-month low in January from 56.5 in December. There were also renewed worries about the debt ceiling after Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned that the federal debt limit could be breached by the end of the month. Microsoft names new CEO Shares in software giant Microsoft advanced after the company ended months of uncertainty by naming Satya Nadella as its new Chief Executive. He will succeed Steve Ballmer, who first announced plans to retire back in August. The company also said that Chairman and co-founder Bill Gates would be taking on a new role as Technology Advisor and will be replaced by John Thompson, Lead Independent Director. JC Penney edged higher after a 2% rise in same-store sales for its fourth quarter. This was the first time quarterly same-store sales have grown at the retailer in two and a half years. Luxury fashion accessories group Michael Kors jumped after same-store sales in its third quarter surged 28%, pushing profits 77% higher. The company also raised its full-year guidance for earnings and revenues. Taco Bell and KFC owner Yum Brands was also a high riser after beating forecasts with its fourth-quarter earnings. The share price of Furiex Pharmaceuticals more than doubled after two clinical trials met FDA standards. Heart-valve maker Edwards Lifesciences dropped as it said adjusted earnings will reach 61-71 cents a share in the first quarter of this year, compared to analysts' estimates of 71 cents. Take-Two Interactive Software, maker of the Grand Theft Auto V video game, declined as it projected profit would not exceed 10 cents a share this quarter, missing the average analyst prediction of 13 cents. Front month West Texas crude futures were slightly lower, down by 0.06% to the $97.08/barrel mark on the NYMEX. Yields on 10-year US Treasuries were 6 basis points higher at 2.64%. S&P 500 – Risers Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) $71.62 +8.25% Fossil Group Inc (FOSL) $114.64 +6.13% Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $41.37 +4.84% ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $60.26 +4.04% Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $42.17 +3.90% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $60.71 +3.83% Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $171.39 +3.74% EQT Corp. (EQT) $95.53 +3.69% Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $88.06 +3.61% Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) $50.59 +3.52% S&P 500 – Fallers Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (DNB) $95.56 -10.24% Eaton Corporation plc (ETN) $67.98 -3.26% Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $34.21 -2.90% MeadWestvaco Corp. (MWV) $34.12 -2.82% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $49.65 -2.81% CareFusion Corp. (CFN) $38.76 -2.61% Coach Inc. (COH) $45.40 -2.37% Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $84.49 -2.06% Dominion Resources Inc. (D) $65.89 -1.83% Medtronic Inc. (MDT) $53.77 -1.72% Dow Jones I.A – Risers E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $61.90 +3.18% Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $31.36 +2.48% 3M Co. (MMM) $126.86 +2.39% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $53.26 +2.27% AT&T Inc. (T) $32.33 +1.18% American Express Co. (AXP) $83.83 +1.17% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $70.75 +1.09% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $54.87 +1.02% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $161.23 +0.88% Visa Inc. (V) $215.14 +0.78% Dow Jones I.A – Fallers United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $109.15 -0.91% Boeing Co. (BA) $122.08 -0.81% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $70.18 -0.79% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $74.63 -0.61% Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.82 -0.54% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $86.34 -0.51% Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $89.66 -0.43% Nike Inc. (NKE) $70.63 -0.35% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $110.86 -0.25% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $92.26 -0.17% Nasdaq 100 – Risers Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $81.56 +3.46% Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $56.49 +3.46% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $155.30 +3.18% Fastenal Co. (FAST) $43.90 +2.81% Celgene Corp. (CELG) $152.70 +2.76% Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $70.67 +2.46% Mattel Inc. (MAT) $36.92 +2.41% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $59.47 +2.38% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $134.10 +2.37% Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $31.61 +2.36% Nasdaq 100 – Fallers Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $49.65 -2.81% Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $29.33 -1.78% Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $40.95 -1.33% Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $73.22 -1.25% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.51 -1.13% Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $20.54 -1.01% QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $72.61 -0.97% Liberty Media Corporation – Class A (LMCA) $128.43 -0.87% Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $16.93 -0.76% Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) $43.29 -0.67% (c) 2014 Electronic News Publishing – |