Markets rose substantially at the end of the day, in part led by the strong earnings reports from 5 of 30 DJIA components this morning alone. This was despite the discussions of the risks of the US's Triple-A rating, another drop in home prices, and despite weekly jobless claims heading higher. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 10,081.31 +131.95 (1.33%)
S&P 500 1,092.91 +11.51 (1.06%)
Nasdaq 2,165.29 +14.56 (0.68%)
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eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) posted non-GAAP earnings of $0.38 EPS on $2.24 billion in revenues. Thomson Reuters had estimates for the online auction giant pegged at $0.37 EPS and $2.14 billion in revenues. The guidance for the company came in at $0.38 to $0.40 non-GAAP EPS and $2.2 to $2.3 billion in revenues for the current Q4 period.
Harvest Energy Trust (NYSE: HTE), a Canadian energy trust, was one of the top percentage gainers because the trust is being acquired by Korea National Oil Corp. in South Korea. Shares were up a sharp 32% at $9.28 ahead of the closing bell.
Marshall & Ilsley (NYSE: MI) was one of the day's most actively traded stocks on unusual volume after it raised $782 million in a secondary offering. The financial services company priced a 136 million share secondary offering at $5.75 per share after a $6.01 close on Wednesday. Shares were up 3% at $6.19 late in the trading session.
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) rose after beating estimates: $1.15 EPS and revenue fell by 4% to $6.05 billion, both above plan. Despite some light caution on the trends in casual dining, shares were up 2.4% at $59.72 head of today's closing bell.
3M Company (NYSE: MMM) posted earnings of $1.35 EPS on a 5.5% drop in revenues of $6.2 billion versus estimates of $1.17 EPS and $5.77 billion in revenues; it also raised guidance to $4.50 to $4.55 EPS for 2009, up from a prior range of $4.10 to $4.30 EPS. Shares were up over 3% at $78.90 late in the trading day after shares put in new 52-week highs earlier today.
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