Companies reporting quarterly scorecards in the after-hours include Texas Instruments Inc (
) and Legg Mason Inc (
).
The major indices closed near the day's highs, each up around 1%.
The DJIA has now finished higher for six straight sessions, while the
Nasdaq's winning streak stretches to nine. Reports that small-business
lender CIT (
) will be rescued buoyed the broader market Monday.
Stocks also gained after The Conference Board's index of leading
economic indicators rose for a third straight month.
Stocks opened higher out of the gate, then traded in choppy fashion.
The U.S. index of leading economic indicators rose 0.7% in June,
the Conference Board said this morning, providing another piece of good
news for the market. Economists were looking for a 0.4% increase,
according to a Thomson Reuters survey. Conference Board economist Ken
Goldstein said current trends suggest "a slow recovery this autumn."
But stocks moved off their highs on the news. But the increase was not
as big as previous months.
CIT jumped after the retail and small business lender secured $3
billion in rescue financing from a group of bondholders. The move saves
the economy from a major upheaval. More than 500,000 mostly retailers
rely on CIT for financing.
Goldman Sachs (
) added to the morning's positive tone by raising its
year-end target for the benchmark S&P 500 index to 1,060 from 940,
almost a 13% from current levels. The S&P is currently around 947.
Citigroup (
) and Bank of America (
) traded mixed Monday after
various analysts gave mixed outlooks for the two banks.
