U.S. stocks and bond prices rose after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received positive news from regulators which may open up another source of financing.
This news helped financial shares rise, and helped the market offset a higher-than-forecasted increase in inflation and initial jobless claims. Energy shares were lower after the price of crude oil fell on concern demand may slow.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 82.97 .. at 11615.93.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 7.10 .. at 1292.93.
The Nasdaq composite index was up 25.05 .. at 2453.67.
The Transportation Average was up 78.76 .. at 5149.07.
And Utilities were down 5.03 .. at 464.87.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was moderate, with 1.0 billion shares traded. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 7-to-4 margin.
THE 5 MOST ACTIVE ISSUES ON THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE AS OF 3:10 CT WERE
BANK OF AMERICA CORP UP $ 1.32 TO.. $ 30.18
CITIGROUP INC UP $ 0.27 TO.. $ 18.08
KRAFT FOODS INC DOWN $ 0.17 TO.. $ 32.69
WELLS FARGO & CO UP $ 0.88 AT.. $ 30.17
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO UP $ 0.21 TO.. $ 29.52
The 30-year Treasury rose 23/32, lowering the yield to 4.51%. The 10-
year Treasury rose 11/32, lowering the yield to 3.89%. The 3-month T-Bill closed at 1.85% and the 6-month T-Bill closed at 1.95%.
In commodity markets, Gold fell $17.00 to $814.50 and Silver fell $0.62 to
$14.36. Crude oil prices fell $0.99 to $115.01 per barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
LOOKING AT OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
Wal-Mart Stores announced a 17 percent increase in second-quarter profit as
cash strapped shoppers sought out low prices. The company earned $0.86 a
share, compared with $0.77 a share a year earlier. In addition, the company raised its full-year earnings forecast to a range of $3.43 to $3.50 a share,
up from a previous company forecast of $3.30 to $3.43 a share. Wal-Mart
closed up $0.22 to $58.10.
J.M. Smucker Co. announced first-quarter profit increased 3.8 percent after the company raised prices and sales increased by 18 percent. On a per share basis, the company earned $0.82, compared with $0.77. The company stated "We are experiencing sales growth across most of our brands despite taking significant price increases to offset record raw materials costs." J.M. Smucker Co. closed up $3.84 to $54.34. Estee Lauder (ES-TAY LAH-DUHR) stated fourth-quarter profit rose 36% on sales
New York-based Estee Lauder
At the close, foreign markets were mostly higher today.
Canada's S&P/TSX Composite was down 18.31 to close at 13358.91.
Mexico's Bolsa index was up 370.38 to close at 27247.45.
Britain's FTSE 100 Index was up 48.80 to close at 5497.40.
France's CAC 40 Index was up 17.94 to close at 4420.91.
Germany's DAX Index was up 20.02 to close at 6442.21.
Japan's market was down 66.25 to close at 12956.80.
Hong Kong's market was up 99.39 to close at 21392.71.
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