(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished with gains on Friday as strongly quarterly earnings at Walt Disney Co. and J.C Penney boosted recovery hopes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 73 points or 0.72% to finish at 10,270.47. The S&P 500 added 6.24 points or 0.57% to end at 1,093.48. The Nasdaq Composite rose 18.86 points or 0.88% to 2,167.88.
Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:
MCD) jumped $1.41 or 2.27% to $63.58.
Among financials, American Express Co. (NYSE:
AXP) rallied 85 cents or 2.15% to $40.35.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:
CSCO) gained 31 cents or 1.32% to $23.71.
Shares of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:
UTX) climbed $1.29 or 1.93% to $67.99.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:
DELL) on Friday confirmed plans to launch a smart phone named Mini 3, a touch-screen phone that runs Google Inc.'s Android operating system. The Round Rock, Texas-based pc maker said it plans to launch smartphones initially in China and Brazil. Shares of Dell finished at $15.40, down 5 cents or 0.32%.
Early on Friday, J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE:
JCP) reported that its third-quarter profit slid 78% to $27 million, or 11 cents a share, from $124 million, or 56 cents, in the year earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 30 cents a share. Revenue decreased 3.2% to $4.18 billion. Shares of the retailer soared $1.82 or 6.19% to $31.21.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:
ANF) said Friday that third-quarter earnings dropped to $39 million, or 44 cents a share, compared to $64 million, or 72 cents a share, in the comparable period last year. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 30 cents a share. Revenue declined to $765 million compared to $896 million. Shares surged $3.92 or 10.66% to $40.68.
Late on Wednesday, Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:
DIS) reported that its fourth fiscal-quarter profit rose 18% to $895 million, or 47 cents a share, compared with a profit of $760 million, or 40 cents a share, in the prior year's fourth quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 46 cents a share in the latest three months. Revenue increased 4% to $9.87 billion from $9.44 billion. Disney shares jumped $1.39 or 4.78% to $30.44.
Blockbuster Inc (NYSE:
BBI), the largest U.S. movie rental chain, said Thursday that its third quarter net loss widened to $116.8 million, or 60 cents per share, compared with a loss of $17.8 million, or 9 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a loss of 25 cents per share. Quarter revenue plunged 24 percent to $910.5 million from $1.2 billion a year earlier. Blockbuster shares plummeted 5 cents or 6.02% to $0.78.
On the economic front, a report released by Commerce Department on Friday showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened by 18.2% in September to $36.5 billion. Economists were looking for a deficit of $32.0 billion.
The University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment index declined to a three-month low of 66 from 70.6 in October.
European stocks settled mixed. The UK FTSE rose 19.88 points or 0.19% to 5,276.50. The German DAX gained 0.40% while French CAC dropped 0.05%.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 fell 67.19 points or 0.68% to 9,804.49. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 156.06 points or o.70% to 22,533.63.
NYMEX crude oil for December delivery declined 59 cents or 0.8% to settle at $76.35 a barrel.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
