Optimism For Black Friday Lifts Stocks
A shortened trading day ended higher with the Dow climbing 102 points to 8829 with investors hopeful that sales figures from Black Friday will be better than the dismal forecasts. Nasdaq added 3 points to 1536.
On the upside
General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) will present their restructuring plans to Congress next week in hopes of receiving bailout funds.Hedge fund manager Pershing Square Capital Management increased its stake in General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) to 7.5% by purchasing 20.1 million shares.
Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL) applied for government assistance citing receivables from steel makers of 3.2 billion roubles.
On the downside
Callon Petroleum (NYSE: CPE) cited cost overruns and lower commodity prices for suspending its Entrada Field development project. Analysts promptly downgraded the stock.
Panasonic (NYSE: PC) blamed disappointing sales and steep discounting for slashing its full year outlook by 90%.
Charming Shoppes (Nasdaq: CHRS) announced a restructuring plan that will save between $100 million to $125 million over two years through job cuts and the closure of 100 stores.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 2 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 4 points to 473.
