(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished higher on Wednesday after homebuilder Toll Brothers issued an upbeat revenue forecast.
Shares also rallied on hopes of continued low interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 44.29 points or 0.43% to finish at 10,291.26. The S&P 500 added 5.50 points or 0.50% to end at 1,098.51. The Nasdaq Composite gained 15.82 points or 0.74% to 2,166.90.
Fed officials on Tuesday indicated that the central bank will keep the interest rates low. "Looking into 2010 and perhaps to 2011, the most likely outcome is for growth to be suboptimal, unemployment to remain a vexing problem and inflation to remain subdued," Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said in a speech on Tuesday.
Shares of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:
BAC) surged 40 cents or 2.50% to $16.43.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:
CSCO) dropped 27 cents or 1.14% to $23.92. Shares of chipmaker Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:
INTC) 34 cents or 1.74% to $19.84.
Home Depot (NYSE:
HD), the largest US home improvement retailer, gained 49 cents or 1.83% to $27.31
Shares of retail giant Wal-Mart (NYSE:
WMT) climbed 66 cents or 1.26% to $52.97.
Early on Wednesday, Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) reported that third-quarter loss narrowed to $35 million, or 8 cents a share, from $44 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Quarterly sales slipped 3.9% to $5.28 billion while same-store sales decreasing 3.6%. On an adjusted basis, the company reported a loss of 3 cents a share. Shares of the retailer plunged $1.57 or 8.08% to $17.86.
Shares of homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE:
TOL) surged $3.02 or 1.42% to $21.41 after it said that preliminary results show that fourth quarter revenue dropped to $486.6 million from $691.1 million in the year ago period. Quarterly contracts rose to $430.8 million from $266.7 million.
The world's biggest design software maker Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:
ADBE) on Wednesday announced that it plans to trim 680 jobs, or about 9 percent of its global workforce, in order to cut costs. Shares fell 68 cents or 1.86% to $35.92.
Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE:
PRU), the second-largest U.S. life insurer, boosted its annual dividend 21 percent after posting its third straight quarterly profit. The company report thirs quarter net income of $1.090 billion or $2.35 per common share, compared to a net loss of $118m or 25 cents per common share, in the year-ago quarter. Shares jumped $1.28 or 2.70% to $48.76.
Meanwhile, American International Group Inc. (NYSE:
AIG) Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche is considering stepping down from his position, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Shares of the insurer fell 84 cents or 2.23% to $36.75.
Elsewhere, in China, a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed that industrial production for the month of October jumped 16.1% from the year-earlier period, topping a 15.5% analyst estimates and beating September's 13.9% growth.
European stocks settled up. The UK FTSE gained 36.20 points or 0.69% to 5,266.75. The German DAX and French CAC climbed 0.98% and 0.76% respectively.
Asian stocks finished up. The Nikkei 225 rose 61.74 points or 0.63% to 9,870.73. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 60.61 points or 0.27% to 22,268.16.
NYMEX crude oil for December delivery declined 23 cents or 0.3% to settle at $79.28 a barrel.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
