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Earnings rally continues
By Amy Baldwin NEW YORK >> Investors encouraged by another batch of better-than-expected earnings sent stocks moderately higher today, carrying Wall Street's rally over to a second day. The Nasdaq composite index climbed to its highest close in nearly five months.
Associated Press"We'd really written the first quarter off. So to get some pleasant surprises from Corporate America is certainly helping the market," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
Analysts said surprisingly strong profits have been the biggest contributor to the market's gains this week, although the short and successful war with Iraq remained a factor in the advance.
"All of this ... will draw the value hungry investors back into market," said Kevin Caron, market strategist, Ryan, Beck & Co. "Sure there are other challenges out there, but the big one is off the table. You have corporate profits in the first quarter that will probably be up 8 to 10 percent when it is all said and done."
The market's broader gauges finished higher for a second day today. The Nasdaq composite index rose 14.80, or 1 percent, to 1,466.16, its best close since Dec. 2, when it stood at 1,484.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 7.65, or 0.8 percent, to 919.02. The Russell 2000 index rose 3.81, or 1 percent, to 394.97.
Blue chips also gained, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing up 30.67, or 0.4 percent, at 8,515.66, having soared 156.09 on Tuesday.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 9 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was heavy.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was down 1/8 point, while its yield rose to 3.98 percent from 3.96 percent yesterday. Two-year Treasury notes were unchanged, but their yield fell to 1.64 percent from 1.65 percent yesterday.
"If you take a step back and think about where the market was two months ago versus today, you see there's a much different complexion to the market. You see some of the riskier investments like technology and the Nasdaq leading the way and some safer investments lagging behind," Caron said.
Indeed, so far this year the tech-focused Nasdaq has climbed nearly 8 percent, while the Dow has gained almost 2 percent and the S&P has risen nearly 4 percent.
A string of upbeat first-quarter earnings reports helped boost the market. Investors have been heartened by the results, which overall have been surprisingly strong given the economic malaise and the buildup to war in Iraq.
One of the biggest tech winners was online auctioneer eBay, which rose $5.10 to $94.32 after posting first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's estimates by 4 cents a share. Additionally, Salomon Smith Barney increased its 2003 earnings projections on the company, while First Albany and US Bancorp Piper Jaffray raised their ratings on eBay.
AT&T climbed $3.20 to $17.01 on profits that surpassed expectations by 15 cents a share. Boeing advanced 34 cents to $28.14 on earnings that were 11 cents a share stronger than analysts predicted. Both are Dow industrials.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished up 0.04 percent. In Europe, France's CAC-40 advanced 1.7 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.3 percent and Germany's DAX index gained 0.5 percent.
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