You can call it more positive data or you can call it better expectations than what was out there in recent days. But today can be almost entirely chalked up to Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) beating earnings by so much. Oil inventories and a tame CPI report did not hamper the rally at all, nor did the FOMC minutes hinting at a Fed exit strategy. It looks like 29 of 30 DJIA components were higher at the end of the day. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 8,616.89 +257.40 (3.08%)
S&P 500 932.24 +26.40 (2.91%)
Nasdaq 1,860.90 +61.17 (3.40%)
Top Analyst Calls
Top Tech Analyst Upgrades
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) rose after it disclosed that its charge-offs were up, but delinquencies of 30-days is down. Shares were up nearly 13% at $26.10 toward the end of the trading day.
CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was halted at the end of the day after more hope of a FDIC backing or some additional bailout. Before the halt at 3:18 PM shares were up almost 2% at $1.64.
Local.com Corporation (NASDAQ: LOCM) is one that got missed by many as there is much competition for capturing investor attention. But this was big mover after the company gave a positive earnings guidance to profitability. Shares were up 11.5% at $3.70 late in the trading session.
Rick's Cabaret International Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK) is hardly a known stock, but this one had a large price/volume spike this morning ahead of an interview on CNBC before they run their special about the business of porn. Shares were up 10% at $7.39, on nearly 5-times normal volume, at the end of the trading day.
Intel's earnings beat was already outlined and by now everyone has heard, but its shares were up almost 8% toward the end of the trading day. Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) even rose on the Intel news, despite it lowering margin expectations in the last 48-hour period. Dell shares were up over 3% at $12.37 ahead of the closing bell.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was up in a strong tech sector today, but this stock was also the beneficiary of a key tech analyst upgrade. Shares were up almost 6% at $19.82 late in the trading day.
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