US Stocks Gain on Strong Earnings Expectations

US stocks gain on strong earnings expectations

NEW YORK, July 13 (Xinhua) — US stocks rose modestly Wednesday as investors concentrated on solid second-quarter earnings, shrugging off higher oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 43.50 points, or 0.41 percent, to 10,557.39 points. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 1.08 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,223.29 points. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 0.96 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,144.11 points.

Investors were anticipating more good earnings news after Harley- Davison Inc. and Abbott Laboratories released strong quarterly profits.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Ltd (CNOOC) fell 74 cents to 62.86 dollars, Chevron Corp. shed 4 cents to 57.47 dollars, while Unocal Corp. rose 84 cents to 66.75 dollars. Unocal ‘s stock price was about equal to the CNOOC’s bid of 67 dollars a share, and nearly 6 dollars higher than the Chevron’s bid of 61 dollars a share.

In other company news, Hospital operator HCA Inc. fell 4.86 dollars to 50.05 dollars, health care products maker Abbott Laboratories shed 2.06 dollars to 47.65 dollars, Boston Scientific Corp. dropped 38 cents to 27.48 dollars, Gannett Co. lost 46 cents to 72.95 dollars, but Motorcycle maker Harley-Divison Inc. rose 68 cents to 50.38 dollars.

On the NYSE, declining stocks outpaced advancers about 8 to 7, and the trading volume was 1.35 billion shares.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.2082 dollars from 1.2232, and the British pound declined to 1.7617 dollars from 1. 7765 late Tuesday. The dollar was buying 111.89 yen, up from 110. 90, 1.2904 Swiss francs, up from 1.2713, and 1.2063 Canadian dollars, up from 1.2040 late Tuesday.