US close: S and P, Nasdaq rise to three-month highs

Date: Tuesday 07 Aug 2012

US stocks advanced on Tuesday for the third straight day on the hope that central banks will do what's necessary to boost economies in both Europe and the US.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished over 1,400 and 3,000 for the first time since the start of May.

"Stocks are trading higher again as risk appetite remains high. Comments from the ECB press conference last week are continuing to push the markets higher as investors are more optimistic about the second half of the year than they were a couple of weeks ago," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.

Bloomberg figures show that 72% of companies in the S&P 500 that reported second quarter earnings beat expectations. These results have come despite weakening growth in China and the well documented travails of the Eurozone.

US Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren was arguing today for further monetary stimulus, saying that the Fed must take "more substantive action than we've taken to date". He said that the next such round of stimulus must be “open-ended.”

COMPANIES

The biggest riser of the day was jewellery and fashion group Fossil Inc which jumped 31% after saying it expects to report full-year earnings (excluding certain items) of $5.34 a share, better than the current consensus estimate of $5.27.

Gas giant Chesapeake Energy surged after it reported record quarterly profit and raised the minimum target for asset sales this year from $11.5bn to $13bn.

MGM Resorts International, the biggest casino operator in Las Vegas, which reported losses lower than forecast.

S&P 500 - Risers
Fossil Inc. (FOSL) $91.77 +31.49%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $19.37 +9.44%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $5.08 +9.01%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $20.68 +8.50%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $11.87 +5.23%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $42.88 +5.12%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $34.41 +5.04%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $16.81 +5.00%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $102.64 +4.95%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $31.67 +4.94%

S&P 500 - Fallers
FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) $46.14 -6.45%
Pepco Holdings Inc. (POM) $19.47 -2.75%
American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $70.52 -2.73%
Lorillard Inc. (LO) $122.74 -2.60%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $83.59 -2.35%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $34.95 -2.35%
Health Care REIT Inc. (HCN) $59.21 -2.29%
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $42.75 -2.20%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $23.74 -2.14%
Ventas Inc. (VTR) $65.48 -2.01%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $17.14 +2.70%
Boeing Co. (BA) $74.46 +2.15%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $37.01 +1.96%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $78.12 +1.92%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $18.96 +1.44%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.60 +1.18%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $30.26 +1.04%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $87.22 +1.01%
American Express Co. (AXP) $57.64 +0.95%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $52.40 +0.77%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $23.74 -2.14%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $44.00 -1.10%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $79.77 -1.08%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $68.29 -0.80%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $89.01 -0.76%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.47 -0.49%
AT&T Inc. (T) $37.44 -0.45%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $73.99 -0.39%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $63.37 -0.24%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Fossil Inc. (FOSL) $91.77 +31.49%
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) $23.30 +8.54%
Warner Chilcott Plc (WCRX) $17.79 +7.10%
Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX) $6.74 +6.31%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $11.87 +5.23%
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) $11.69 +5.13%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $102.64 +4.95%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $12.79 +4.84%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $101.67 +4.67%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $52.68 +4.57%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) $21.63 -3.39%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $34.53 -1.17%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $90.35 -1.17%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $35.65 -1.08%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $81.57 -1.04%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $105.10 -0.97%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $51.46 -0.92%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $95.80 -0.73%
Perrigo Company (PRGO) $115.02 -0.64%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $63.81 -0.62%

BC

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