The major averages finish in the upper end of the day's range. The
market briefly blipped into negative territory after Fed chief Ben
Bernanke delivered a similarly cautious speech as remarks made in
recent weeks. Stocks were buoyed earlier by retail and manufacturing
data, though disappointing earnings from retailers Best Buy (
BBY) and
Kroger (
KR) capped the broader market's upside.
In economic news, August retail sales were up 2.7% compared with a
0.1% decline in July, the Commerce Department reported this morning.
Economists expected a 2%. Excluding automobiles, sales rose 1.1% versus
the estimate of a 0.4% increase. Consumer spending is considered
crucial for the economic recovery to take off.
Meanwhile, the August producer price index (PPI) gained 1.7%, while
economists looked for an 0.8% increase. Excluding volatile food and
energy items, the core PPI rose 0.2%, compared with the estimate of a
0.1% increase.
Finally, a regional manufacturing gauge was at its strongest since
November 2007. The New York Fed's Empire State Index reached 18.9 in
September from 12.1 in August.
In corporate news, Best Buy (BBY) fell after the electronics
retailer reported Q2 earnings that were shy of estimates, although the
company raised its full-year outlook. EBay Inc (
EBAY) is up near 2% out
of the gate, after Piper Jaffray upgraded the online auctioneer to
"overweight" from "underweight," based on its quarterly eCommerce
survey.
Microsoft (
MSFT) launched a slimmer, revamped version of its Zune
handheld music and video player on Tuesday, a move seen as the latest
attempt to challenge Apple's (AAPL) iPod.
Internet giants eBay (EBAY) and Yahoo (
YHOO) are seeing aggressive
upside interest in the pre-market session. EBAY was reportedly upgraded
by UBS to Buy from Neutral. YHOO sold $150 mln worth of its Alibaba
stake on Monday. The stock was also upgraded by Sanford Bernstein to
Outperform from Market Perform.
October crude closed up 3% at $70.93 a barrel.
NYSE up 37 (0.5%) to 6,917.06.
-DJIA up 56.6 (0.6%) to 9,683.
-S&P 500 up 3.3 (0.3%) to 1,053.
-Nasdaq up 10.8 (0.5%) to 2,103.
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Hang Seng down 0.31%
Nikkei up 0.15%
FTSE up 0.46%
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) C down as WSJ story says company working on plan to cut government stake through share offering.
(-) BBY misses with earnings results, issues guidance that's in line to above Street view.
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) ETFC reports sharp rise in DARTS, guides for charge-offs.
(+) YHOO gets upgrade.
(+) EBAY gets upgrade.
(+) NFLX started at Overweight at JP Morgan.
(+) CAH upgraded to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
(+) BCRX inks partnership for Peramivir for influenza outside the U.S.
(+) LXRX reports favorable trial results for diabetes candidate.
(+) ACLS gets follow-on order.
(+) ITW finishes higher though mixed trade followed raised outlook.
