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US midday: Tech stocks lead rally

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Date: Thursday 01 May 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - New York opened higher, bouncing back from yesterday’s setback, on the release of better than expected consumer spending figures.

US consumer spending rose 0.4% in March, though this was largely due to higher prices for energy and food.

Disappointing results from oil giant Exxon Mobil acted as a dampener on sentiment, however. Exxon’s first quarter earnings per share of $2.03 were some 10 cents short of analysts’ expectations.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 59 at 12,879 and the S&P 500 is 7 points higher at 1,393. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite is 41 points better at 2,454.

PC utilities company Symantec surged higher after releasing better than expected results. The publisher of Norton anti-virus said net income tripled in the fourth quarter of its financial year to $186.4m on sales that grew 13%.

The US’s largest cable company, Comcast, attracted buyers after announcing a 14% gain in first quarter sales. The rise, which was driven by the company’s internet service provision arm, was higher than analysts had been anticipating.

Internet portal Yahoo! edged higher on expectations that Microsoft will bite the bullet and return with a higher offer.

JDS Uniphase is the day’s worst performing blue-chip. The manufacturer of testing equipment for telecommunications networks fell unexpectedly into the red in its fiscal third quarter.