LONDON (SHARECAST) - US shares have held on to their early gains. They shrugged off weak consumer sentiment and a larger than expected trade gap.
Dow Jones is 84 higher at 10,281. Nasdaq added 13 at 2,162 and the S&P 500 gained 6 at 1,093.
US consumer sentiment in November was the weakest in three months due to worries about unemployment. The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment decreased to 66 from 70.6 in October. The government is considering ways of boosting job creation.
The trade gap grew to $36.5bn in October, up from $30.8bn in September. That was much larger than economists' expectation of $31.1bn, though import prices grew by 0.7%, which was lower than expected.
Walt Disney's fourth-quarter profit rose 18%, as both its theme parks division and its cable networks showed signs of improvement.
There was good news from retailers despite the poor consumer sentiment. Abercrombie & Fitch reported much better than expected third quarter earnings. JC Penney, the third largest US department store group, raised its annual earnings expectations from 90 cents a share to 108 cents a share. Sears rose in sympathy. In contrast, department stores group Nordstrom said its gross margins are improving but not by as much as expected.
Liberty Global, the international cable group chaired by John Malone, sealed a €3.5bn ($5bn) deal to acquire Unitymedia in the early hours of Friday, less than a week after approaching Germany’s second-largest cable company. Unitymedia, owned by private equity houses BC Partners and Apollo, had been scheduled to announce a flotation on Thursday. Shares in Liberty Global reacted badly and fell more than 9%.
Goldman Sachs raised its recommendation on Goodyear Tire & Rubber from neutral to buy because it expects improved earnings.
Broker Oppenheimer & Co raised its recommendation for network equipment supplier Juniper Networks from market perform to outperform.
S&P 500 - Fallers
Gamestop Corp. (GME) $23.78 -3.41%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $33.59 -2.67%
M B I A Inc. (MBI) $3.66 -2.14%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $65.51 -1.99%
Sunoco Inc. (SUN) $26.69 -1.95%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $31.07 -1.71%
Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) $27.74 -1.69%
NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) $18.85 -1.67%
US Bancorp (USB) $23.63 -1.54%
Dynegy Inc. Holdings Co (DYN) $1.94 -1.52%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $30.27 +4.20%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $63.40 +1.98%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $67.73 +1.54%
Du Pont E I De Nemours and Co. (DD) $34.36 +1.45%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $33.36 +1.15%
American Express Inc. (AXP) $39.95 +1.14%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $29.67 +1.06%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $56.53 +1.05%
Boeing Co. (BA) $50.78 +0.98%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.63 +0.98%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $42.91 -0.90%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $73.72 +5.52%
Ryanair Holdings Plc Adr (RYAAY) $27.71 +4.33%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $33.97 +3.57%
Network Appliance Inc. (NTAP) $29.82 +3.18%
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) $15.74 +3.01%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $118.67 +2.86%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $36.46 +2.39%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $69.15 +2.28%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $45.86 +2.25%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $25.22 +2.11%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Liberty Global Inc. Series A (LBTYA) $20.94 -9.35%
Warner Chilcott Plc (WCRX) $22.34 -2.54%
Verisign Inc. (VRSN) $22.44 -1.36%
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $62.38 -0.96%
IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) $19.53 -0.71%
Liberty Media Corp. (LINTA) $10.97 -0.63%
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW) $57.38 -0.54%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $47.52 -0.52%
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $54.30 -0.44%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $12.77 -0.39%
LONDON (SHARECAST) - US shares have held on to their early gains. They shrugged off weak consumer sentiment and a larger than expected trade gap.
