Closing Market Report
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Stocks rise on strong Time Warner earnings
By Ellen Simon
Associated Press
NEW YORK » Stocks moved sharply higher yesterday on strong earnings from Time Warner Inc. and declining oil prices. A big upswing in tech stocks lifted the Nasdaq composite index well over 1 percent.
With three-quarters of third-quarter earnings reported, the Standard & Poor's 500 are poised to post a 14 percent year-over-year quarterly gain. Traders continue to watch earnings while they wait for details on the economic outlook from the Federal Reserve, which raised its benchmark interest rate to 4 percent Tuesday, its 12th consecutive rate hike.
"Interest rates are still rising, but for the moment, we have great corporate profits," said Charles H. Blood Jr., senior financial markets analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. "It's like a race between interest rates and profits. One day interest rates seem to win, the next day profits seem to win."
The result is a market where large-cap stocks are nearly flat for the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 65.96, or 0.63 percent, to 10,472.73.
Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12.00, or 1 percent, to 1,214.76. The Nasdaq, boosted by companies including Apple Computer Inc. and Black Box Corp., rose 30.26, or 1.43 percent, to 2,144.31.
Oil futures fell. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $59.75, down 10 cents, in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil's decline widened after the Energy Information Administration reported oil and gas reserves that were in line with analysts' exceptions.
Bonds fell, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.6 percent from 4.58 percent late Tuesday. The U.S. dollar rose against major currencies in European trading. Gold prices rose.
Despite the day's gains, money managers remain wary of stocks. The S&P 500 is barely positive for the year. Merrill Lynch said in a strategy note that its "sell side indicator," a survey of Wall Street strategists' recommended asset allocations, shows the number of strategists who are moving more money into cash rose in October.
"Cash still appears to be the only asset class with a near-certain increasing and competitive expected return," Merrill Lynch said in the note.
Near the top of investors list of worries is how long the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates.
Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, reported an 80 percent rise in third-quarter earnings, more than doubled its stock repurchase program and confirmed it was in talks to sell part of its America Online unit.