Closing Bell: Dow up nearly 5%; CSCO, XOM, HAS, MAT, NRG ...

Posted Oct 20th 2008 4:25PM by Jon Ogg
Filed under: After the Bell, Major Movement, Earnings Reports, Deals, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Market Matters, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)

Today was another strong day in the market, which may be mostly credited to Ben Bernanke giving a carte blanche for another economic stimulus package in his testimony this morning. We saw a rise in California home buying, but that was credited to foreclosure purchases at far lower prices.

Below are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA 9,265.43 +413.21 +4.67%
S&P500 985.38 +44.83 +4.77%
NASDAQ 1,770.03 +58.74 +3.43%
10YR T-Bond 3.886% (-0.052%)
Top ANALYST UPGRADES
52-Week Lows

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) traded higher by about 2% in pre-market after its rating was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan. The firm believes orders are holding up better than many suspect. Another reason for the upgrade was forward valuation levels. Shares closed up almost 6% at $18.96 today.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded up 10% today to close at $74.99 as part of a broad oil-sector upgrade at Oppenheimer after recent weakness, and as oil prices recovered throughout the day.

Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) managed to beat earnings expectations despite a 15% drop in earnings to 89 cents per share, above estimates of 86 cents EPS. Hasbro posted a 6% North American gain and a 9% international gain, while rival Mattel missed its targets. Shares closed down 4% at $28.87.

NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) traded higher after Exelon (NYSE: EXC) made a $6.2 billion offer to acquire the power generator. Shares of both traded higher in overseas trading indications, and NRG shares closed up 29% at $25.00 today.

Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) missed earnings expectations. The toy maker made earned 66 cents per share, lower than the 71 cents EPS estimate. American Girl sales still rose 11%, but Barbie sales were off 1% at a time where advertising and operating costs were rising. Shares closed down 2% at $14.16 today.

Tags: csco, exc, has, mat, nrg, xom