Opening Bell Report
An unexpected uptick in consumer confidence gave bargain hunters a reason to take advantage of yesterday's sell-off. The Dow surged 110 points to 11,241 while Nasdaq soared 40 points to 2303.
On the upside
The chairman and chief executive of French telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) both stepped down giving in to demand by shareholders for management change after six consecutive quarters of losses.
A drop in oil prices lifted the airline sector with shares of United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAUA) and AMR (NYSE: AMR) rising.
United States Steel (NYSE: X) posted profits that more than doubled to beat expectations due to strong demand and record prices.
Ball bearings maker Kaydon Corp. (NYSE: KDN) posted profits that beat exstimates, but lowered its full-year outlook.
Zoran (Nasdaq: ZRAN) which makes chips used in DVD players lowered its 3rd quarter revenue targets citing weak consumer spending.
On the upside
The chairman and chief executive of French telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) both stepped down giving in to demand by shareholders for management change after six consecutive quarters of losses.
A drop in oil prices lifted the airline sector with shares of United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAUA) and AMR (NYSE: AMR) rising.
United States Steel (NYSE: X) posted profits that more than doubled to beat expectations due to strong demand and record prices.
On the downside
Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) announced plans to issue $8.5 billion in new shares and to sell of more than $30 billion in collateralized debt obligations.Ball bearings maker Kaydon Corp. (NYSE: KDN) posted profits that beat exstimates, but lowered its full-year outlook.
Zoran (Nasdaq: ZRAN) which makes chips used in DVD players lowered its 3rd quarter revenue targets citing weak consumer spending.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a
margin of nearly 3 to 1 on both the NYSE and Nasdaq.
The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks leaped 10 points to 707.
