Market Movers
Dow Jones: 13,615 (+0.56%)
Nasdaq: 3,187 (+0.99%)
S&P 500: 1,470 (+0.69%)
LONDON (SHARECAST) - US stocks started strongly on Friday, extending yesterday’s massive gains after the Federal Reserve unveiled details of its plan to boost the economy.
“US markets have held onto yesterday’s gains early this morning, pushing higher as Europe plays catch up after last night’s +200 point rally in the Dow. The S&P500 has recovered to levels last seen at the end of 2007, above 1,470,” said market analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets.
The Fed announced last night that it will launch its third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, by purchasing mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40bn a month “to support a stronger economic recovery” and make sure that inflation stayed close to its target. It will also continue its Operation Twist programme to extend the maturity of its holdings.
“This is an ambitious response by the Fed and certainly a step in the right direction as it differs from the first and second QE programmes; however it remains to be seen if the plan is successful and potentially causes some headaches down the road,” said market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital.
US data comes in mixed
Industrial production fell by a monthly rate of 1.2% in August, the largest decrease since March 2009. The consensus estimate was looking for an unchanged reading from July.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose from 74.3 to 79.2 last month, ahead of the 74 forecast. This was the strongest reading since May.
Business inventories gained 0.8% in July, above the 0.4% increase forecast.
Home-builders surge on Fed action
Sector peer PulteGroup, Hovnanian Enterprises and Toll Brothers were performing well on the back of the Fed’s plan to buy mortgage-backed securities.
Financials were also wanted, with Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman and Citigroup making decent gains.
Office supply retailer Staples was higher on the back of a report that private-equity firms are considering buying the business.
Tech giant Apple continued its decent performance this week following its iPhone 5 release. Meanwhile, media stocks such as Facebook, Groupon, Zynga, LinkedIn and Yelp also rose strongly.
S&P 500 - Risers
Fossil Inc. (FOSL) $90.75 +8.04%
Alpha Natural Res (ANR) $8.84 +7.41%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) $46.20 +6.99%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $24.06 +6.44%
Lexmark International Inc. (LXK) $23.98 +6.44%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $5.70 +6.15%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $23.69 +5.88%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $63.08 +5.45%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $61.08 +5.31%
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) $36.59 +5.26%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS) $44.15 -2.75%
Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) $70.44 -2.21%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $23.74 -2.10%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.63 -2.08%
Southern Co. (SO) $45.04 -1.92%
AT&T Inc. (T) $37.45 -1.83%
Dean Foods Co. (DF) $16.07 -1.68%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $97.54 -1.67%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.71 -1.57%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $43.99 -1.50%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $93.50 +3.11%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $9.64 +2.55%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $82.30 +2.19%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $9.84 +2.18%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $59.56 +2.16%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $52.05 +1.80%
3M Co. (MMM) $93.53 +1.60%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $19.61 +1.29%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $92.20 +1.06%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $117.59 +0.88%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $23.74 -2.10%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.63 -2.08%
AT&T Inc. (T) $37.45 -1.83%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $43.99 -1.50%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $74.53 -0.82%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $68.54 -0.65%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $38.20 -0.38%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $52.50 -0.19%
American Express Co. (AXP) $58.97 -0.14%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Fossil Inc. (FOSL) $90.75 +8.04%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $63.08 +5.45%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $61.08 +5.31%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $120.21 +5.12%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $114.89 +4.61%
Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $7.75 +4.38%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $43.25 +3.42%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $12.35 +3.26%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $103.55 +3.15%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $113.39 +3.06%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $47.94 -1.48%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $29.96 -1.17%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $82.46 -1.04%
VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) $47.52 -1.01%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $28.53 -0.80%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $76.94 -0.72%
Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) $29.82 -0.62%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $51.48 -0.46%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $92.93 -0.42%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $72.02 -0.18%
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