Stocks Advance Cautiously After Positive Earnings, Jobs Data

By Madlen Read Associated Press

NEW YORK — Stocks held up Thursday after Wall Street received some solid readings on corporate earnings and the job market, but remained nervous that a tighter credit market could impede U.S. growth.

Investors were relieved that profits at companies such as Nokia Corp. came in better than expected, and after the Labor Department said jobless claims rose last week by a slightly smaller number than economists predicted. The report — which comes before Friday’s highly anticipated July employment report — was a promising sign that the U.S. job market is holding up.

“Something that has kept consumers spending is that unemployment is very low,” said Janna Sampson, director of portfolio management at Oakbrook Investments. “Even if they’re being pinched a little bit by oil prices or the inability to borrow, people will spend if they have a job. If we see employment weakening, that’s really, really negative.”

But with the market jumpy about rising mortgage defaults leading to losses and tougher lending standards, it was impossible to predict what turn trading might take. In the latest indication that the lending climate is deteriorating, Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., a nonbank mortgage lender, said in a filing Thursday that its business is in jeopardy, and its stock plummeted 40 percent.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.02, or 0.07 percent, to 13,371.39.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.06, or 0.21 percent, to 1,462.75, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.00, or 0.08 percent, to 2,555.87.

Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.78 percent from 4.79 percent late Wednesday.

The Dow had richocheted all day Wednesday, but made a late 150- point rally, following a similarly sized drop the previous session. The blue chip index, now about 4.5 percent below the record close it reached in early July, has seen triple-digit swings become the norm in recent weeks. Last week, the Dow and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index suffered their worst weekly losses in five years.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, after the European Central Bank and the Bank of England kept their key interest rates steady Thursday. More rate boosts overseas could further injure the dollar, which is trading near multi-year lows against the euro and the British pound.

In other economic data, U.S. factories saw demand for their goods rise in June by 0.6 percent, up from a 0.5 percent drop in May but lower than expected.

Several major earnings reports came in strong Thursday.

Nokia, the biggest cell phone maker in the world, said its second- quarter profit more than doubled on strong sales. U.S. shares of the Finnish company soared $2.27, or 8 percent, to $30.68.

Profits at Lear Corp., Eastman Kodak Co., CVS Caremark Corp. and Viacom Inc. also surpassed Street estimates and saw their shares rise.

Meanwhile, another takeover deal lifted the market’s spirits — at least for the time being. Fiserv Inc. said it agreed to buy CheckFree Corp. in an all-cash deal worth about $4.4 billion, lifting CheckFree’s shares up $8.82, or 24 percent, to $45.65.

A few companies gave worse-than-expected projections for later in the year, however, reminding Wall Street that corporate growth could slow. Getty Images Inc. dropped 14 percent after forecasting third- quarter results below Street expectations, and Clorox Co. fell 6 percent after it lowered its fiscal 2008 guidance.

Nortel Networks Corp.’s quarterly results also disappointed investors, and its stock fell $1.35, or 6.2 percent, to $20.39.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 583.5 million shares.

Crude oil futures rose 72 cents to $76.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude is still trading below Tuesday’s record close of $78.21.

Gold prices slipped.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.26, or 0.03 percent, to 778.18.

In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.67 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.05 percent, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.5 percent.

In European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.65 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.83 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.17 percent.

On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: www.nasdaq.com

(c) 2007 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.