Stocks are largely on the upside in mid-morning trading on Thursday, as the markets are focusing on a decline in jobless claims and the silver lining in a mixed bag of earnings reports. The major averages are all in positive territory, offsetting a part of yesterday's losses.
On the economic front this morning, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest decrease in initial jobless claims in the week ended July 24th.
Jobless claims dropped to 457,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 468,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to edge down to 460,000 from the 464,000 originally reported for the previous week.
In earnings news, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) reported second-quarter net income of $1.60 per share, topping estimates that called for $1.47 per share for the period. Total revenues rose to $92.49 billion but fell short of the $98.49 billion forecast for the quarter.
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) also revealed its financial results for the second quarter, including earnings of $1.17 per share compared to estimates for $1.16 per share. Sales for the quarter totaled $3.81 billion, up from $3.74 billion in the prior year quarter but short of estimates for $3.94 billion.
Motorola Inc. (MOT) reported adjusted second-quarter earnings of $0.09 per share, just above Wall Street estimates for $0.08 per share. Net sales for the quarter came in at$5.414 billion, which beat forecasts for $5.19 billion for the quarter.
After the markets closed for trading in the previous session, Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. (SNE) reported a profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 compared to a loss in the same period last year. The company also raised its full year earnings outlook and maintained its revenue guidance.
Credit card service provider Visa Inc. (V) said that its third-quarter profit declined 2 percent from last year, with the drop primarily due to lower investment income. Looking ahead, the company reaffirmed its earnings outlook for fiscal years 2010 and 2011.
In recent trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq briefly dipped into negative territory, but is has moved back above the unchanged line in the past few minutes. The Nasdaq is up 0.57 points or less than 0.1 percent at 2,265.13, while the Dow is up 28.31 points or 0.3 percent at 10,526.19 and the S&P 500 is up 2.44 points or 0.2 percent at 1,108.57.
Sector News
Oil service stocks are among the morning's strongest percentage gainers, resulting a in a 1.5 percent advance by the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index. The upward move has lifted the index to its best intraday level in five weeks.
The advance among oil service stocks come amid a significant increase in the price of crude oil, with oil currently up by $1.04 to $78.03 a barrel.
Strength is also visible among brokerage stocks, with buying interest in the sector being driven by strong quarterly results from Ameriprise Financial (AMP), which soundly beat second quarter earnings estimates. The stock has shot up by 9.4 percent, setting a two and a half month intraday high.
Steel and gold stocks are also trading higher, while considerable weakness among networking and semiconductor stocks is limiting the upside for the major averages.
Stocks In The News
DST Systems (DST) is notably higher in mid-morning trading after being upgraded at Robert W. Baird from Neutral to Outperform. The broker also raised its target price on the stock from $48 to $50. The stock is up by 4.7 percent, reaching its best intraday price in just under three months.
Equinix (EQIX) is also on the upside after Oppenheimer lifted its rating on the stock from Perform to Outperform. Shares are currently up by 4 percent, rising to their highest intraday price in two months.
On the other hand, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is sliding after FBR Capital Markets dropped its rating on the stock from Outperform to Market Perform. The broker also lowered its target price on the stock from $14 to $11. The stock is down by 3.8 percent, slipping further off of Tuesday's one-month closing high.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw a mixed close on Thursday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 inched fell by 0.6 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was nearly flat and India's BSE 30 Index gained 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are all moving moderately higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.6 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.9 percent.
In the bond markets, treasuries are posting modest losses. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is trading at 3.021 percent, posting a gain of 2 basis points.
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