Markets Modestly Higher As Investors Digest Japan's Downgrade
The markets traded modestly higher during the midday with the Dow adding 11 points to 11,996 despite upbeat earnings as investors digested Standard & Poor's downgrade of Japan. Nasdaq gained 16 points to 2756.
On the upside
Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS) reported third quarter earnings that doubled from last year to top analyst estimates as revenue surged.
Fourth quarter earnings for Teradyne (NYSE: TER) more than tripled to beat analyst expectations as revenue leaped and the semiconductor testing equipment maker forecast first quarter results ahead of estimates.
January same-store sales for Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) soared 1.1%.
On the downside
Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) swung to a fourth quarter profit but warned of losses for the current quarter as smartphone sales slow.
Fourth quarter earnings tumbled for Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) to fall short of expectations prompting a downgrade.Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI) reported higher fourth quarter earnings but warned of lower margins in the current quarter.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 9 to 7 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks held added 3 points 796.
