US midday: Smaller companies lead the way
02 Sep 2010
US stocks are mixed and it is the smaller and medium sized companies that are making the best gains.
The Dow Jones is up 5 at 10,274, the S&P 500 is up 5 at 1,085 and the Nasdaq is 13 higher at 2,190.
In economic news, initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 472,000 in the week to 28 August in line with expectations.
Pending sales of existing homes rose by 5.2% in July after a 2.8% fall the previous month. A 1% drop was anticipated. This news pushed housebuilder DR Horton and DIY retailer Home Depot higher.
Burger King rose sharply for the second day in a row after the world's second largest fast food chain accepted a $4bn offer from investment group 3G Capital. Smaller rival Wendy's also rose.
Dell has admitted defeat in its attempt to acquire data storage supplier 3Par. However, Dell is entitled to a termination payment of $72m. Hewlett-Packard's $33 a share offer was too high for Dell to trump.
Strong August sales figures from department stores JC Penney, Kohl's and Nordstrom sent the stocks higher. However, Abercrombie & Fitch is lower because analysts' believe that its sales growth has been boosted by promotions.
Footwear retailer Collective Brands' second quarter profits missed expectations due to weak sales and strong discounting.
S&P 500 - Risers
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $32.30 +6.53%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) $10.15 +6.51%
Limited Brands Inc. (LTD) $25.56 +5.32%
Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) $29.08 +5.16%
Sprint Nxtel Corp. (S) $4.34 +4.83%
Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI) $13.33 +4.47%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $50.90 +4.32%
Teradyne Inc. (TER) $9.66 +4.32%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $24.19 +4.22%
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $32.37 +4.15%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) $34.85 -4.73%
Total System Services Inc. (TSS) $14.37 -3.10%
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $16.16 -2.59%
American Express Co. (AXP) $40.12 -2.33%
Apache Corp. (APA) $90.60 -2.01%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $12.69 -1.93%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $36.06 -1.82%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $38.24 -1.44%
Sara Lee Corp. (SLE) $14.39 -1.44%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $29.96 -1.38%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $29.30 +2.18%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $10.73 +1.98%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $20.65 +1.90%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $13.38 +1.27%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $18.29 +0.83%
Boeing Co. (BA) $62.79 +0.80%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $51.52 +0.62%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $33.71 +0.60%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $39.40 +0.48%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $37.90 +0.42%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
American Express Co. (AXP) $40.12 -2.33%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $29.96 -1.38%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $49.86 -0.89%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $35.40 -0.63%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $30.08 -0.59%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $57.03 -0.49%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $67.10 -0.40%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $125.40 -0.29%
AT&T Inc. (T) $27.28 -0.26%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $60.78 -0.21%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $32.37 +4.15%
Foster Wheeler AG (FWLT) $22.81 +3.73%
Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX) $5.37 +3.67%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $36.08 +3.65%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $24.49 +3.42%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $25.27 +3.18%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $38.44 +3.04%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $43.13 +2.91%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $133.94 +2.90%
Altera Corp. (ALTR) $26.34 +2.88%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) $21.67 -1.10%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $27.45 -0.80%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $54.90 -0.74%
Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX) $43.54 -0.71%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $52.30 -0.55%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $22.50 -0.53%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $54.36 -0.47%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $14.02 -0.39%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $10.88 -0.27%
Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (SIAL) $54.78 -0.27%
