Upbeat Earnings And Drop In Jobless Claims Lifts Markets

A better than expected start to earnings season along with a drop in jobless claims lifted the markets to a modestly higher close with the Dow adding 4 points to 8183. Nasdaq rose 5 points to 1752.

 

On the upside

DineEquity (NYSE: DIN) appointed Daniel J. Brestle of Estee Lauder to its Board of Directors.

GlaxoSmithKline extended its contract with Satyam Computer Services (NYSE: SAY) for SAP and other critical systems support.

Deluxe (NYSE: DLX) lifted its earnings outlook for the second quarter.

On the downside

Kennametal (NYSE: KMT) will raise funds to pay down debt through the offering of 6.5 million shares of common stock.

General Motors is pursuing ways to cancel its multimillion dollar contract to purchase palladium and rhodium from Stillwater Mining (NYSE: SWC).

Natixis Bleichroeder downgraded Merck (NYSE: MRK) after the pharmaceutical ended a study of its cholesterol drug Zetia.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE while advancers barely edged out decliners by a slim margin on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 479.