Modestly Higher Close As Investors Await Bernanke Comments
The markets closed modestly higher with the Dow rising 37
points to 10,854 as investors await comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at the end of the week. Nasdaq added 3
points to
2345.
On the upside
Trefis suggested that Intel (NYSE: INTC) should acquire Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) in order to compete with Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD).Rising gold prices lifted shares of Harmony Gold (NYSE: HMY) and Jaguar Mining (NYSE: JAG).
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), whose stock price plunged last week after announcing that the company would sell its personal computer business.
On the downside
Shares of MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG) fell after the Arizona Department of Insurance placed rival PMI (NYSE: PMI) under regulatory supervision and ordered the insurer to halt the writing of all new insurance policies.
Shares of Camelot Information Systems (NYSE: CIS) continued falling after reporting lower second quarter earnings last week.
Jefferies equity derivatives specialist Layla Peruzzi wrote that Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) may have to raise up to $50 billion in capital while Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) lowered its price target on the bank.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 10 to 9 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 651.
