Stocks Climb as Corporate Profits Beat Estimates

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Stocks opened mostly higher as investors mulled over the latest batch of corporate earnings, most of which beat lowered targets.  The Dow rose 20 points to 7906 while Nasdaq added 3 points to 1649.

On the upside

Raytheon  (NYSE: RTN) posted higher 1st quarter profits and raised its full-year outlook due to strong sales of missiles and defense equipment.

PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) took investors by surprise and reported an increase in earnings boosted by cost savings from its purchase of National City Corp.

Shares of eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) surged after the online auction and e-commerce provider posted lower revenues and earnings that surpassed expectations.

Strong sales of iPhones boosted Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) which reported higher profits that beat estimates.

On the downside

UPS (NYSE:UPS) posted a sharp decline in earnings as global demand for premium package delivery fell.

Scientific instrument maker Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) reported lower profits and sales while slashing its outlook for the year.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq.  The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a points to 471.

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This page contains a single entry by published on April 23, 2009 6:40 AM.

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