Closing Bell: Economic data and deals power gains

Posted May 15th 2008 4:29PM by Jon Ogg
Filed under: Intel (INTC), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS), EMC Corp (EMC)

The markets got some extra relief today as weekly jobless claims only rose by 6,000 to 371,000. The Philly Fed also showed that manufacturing contracted slower than expected as output fell by 0.7% in April. Below are the unofficial closing prices for major index levels:

DJIA 12,988.91 +90.53 +0.70%
S&P500 1,423.28 +14.62 +1.04%
NASDAQ 2,533.73 +37.03 +1.48%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.8430% -0.0950
52-WEEK LOWS
TOP ANALYST CALLS

China Architectural Engineering, Inc. (AMEX: RCH) enjoyed another massive day as its stock rose another 23% to $10.17 late in the day based on construction, architecture, and engineering needs that will be necessary in China after that earthquake.

Shares of CNET Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: CNET) were up 43% at $11.37 after CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) agreed to acquire the company in a deal valued at $11.50 per share.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) shares were up over 4.5% at $24.95 in late day trading after Lehman raised its price target on the company.

Salary.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLRY) saw a 32% drop late in the day to $4.20 after its earnings missed expectations, guidance being off. It announced expenses will be higher for sales and marketing, and also suffered a host of analyst downgrades.

VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) rose by almost 7% to $71.00 late in the day after the company's first shareholder meeting. This also pulled up parent EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) by almost 7% today to $17.84 as it still holds north of 80% of the stock.

Tags: CBS, CNET, EMC, INTC, RCH, SLRY, VMW