Big Win For Merck
Stocks rose Thursday, boosted by good
news from a Dow component, good economic data and excellent retail sales
figures.
Jobless claims for the week of 10/29
fell 8,000 to 323,000. The 4-week moving average fell 17,000, to
350,500. Q3 productivity rose 4.1%.
Retail same store sales were excellent,
with 73% of companies beating expectations. Several retailers guided higher today,
including Abercrombie & Fitch’s
(
ANF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), which
reported October same-store-sales that surged 31%, beating estimates by a wide
margin. JC Penney
(
JCP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) forecast November same store sales in the
low single digits. Talbots also guided higher.
Merck
(
MRK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was found not liable in a second
Vioxx trial. The verdict was announced intraday and Merck spiked up sharply on
the news. MRK closed at 29.48, +1.07 on huge volume. In the first trial, Merck
was found liable in the death of a 59-year old patient who took Vioxx.
Greenspan told Congress that the economy remains
sturdy and that fallout from the recent hurricanes will be temporary.
Genentech
(
DNA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and OSI Pharmaceuticals
(
OSIP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
said the FDA approved Tarceva in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy as
a pancreatic cancer treatment.
Prudential
(
PRU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat by 0.30, beat on revenues
and guided higher. Q3 profits more than doubled.
Wal-Mart’s
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) October same-store-sales rose
4.3%, more than expected. The company sees November sales up 3-5%, up from the
previous 2-4%.
Strong sectors were: Computer Hardware
(
HWI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.11% Semis
(
SOX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.87%
Oil
(
XOI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.77%
Weak sectors were:
Gold
(
XAU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -1.60% Airlines
(
XAL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.74% Banks
(
BXK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.39%
|
|
+50.02 | 10,522.75 |
| +15.83 | 2160.14 | |
| +5.19 | 1219.95 |
More stocks on the move:
Becton Dickinson
(
BDX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat estimates and raised
guidance
Priceline
(
PCLN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat by .10. Travel bookings
rose 40%.
Abgenix
(
ABGX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported good Phase
III results from its panitumumab
colorectal cancer drug.
Qualcomm
(
QCOM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) missed by a penny but guided
higher. Sales were above expectations.
Brice Wightman