US Stocks End Mixed; S&P 500 Has 5th Straight Gain -- GFC 7/5 10/1 5/12==BayCRASH

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Date Posted: 00:08:51 08/11/12 Sat
Author: Oz report Friday 10/8 on US Thursday 9/8/2012
Subject:

US Stocks End Mixed; S&P 500 Has 5th Straight Gain

US Stocks End Mixed; S&P 500 Has 5th Straight Gain
10/08/2012 6:34AM

--Stocks finish mixed; S&P 500 rises for fifth straight session

--S&P 500 rises less than 1 point; longest streak since March

--DJIA inches lower for the first session in five

By Chris Dieterich

NEW YORK--The S&P 500 ended up slightly in mixed trading for its fifth straight gain, the longest streak since March, while the Dow industrials failed to budge higher for the first time in five sessions.

Stocks closed little changed, with the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index adding 0.58 point, or less than 0.1%, to 1402.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 10.45 points, or 0.1%, to 13165.19, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 7.39 points, or 0.3%, to 3018.64.

Materials and energy stocks gained the most ground, while consumer staples, typically viewed as defensive stocks, fell most sharply.

Cisco Systems led the Dow, jumping 3.2% after analysts at Goldman Sachs Group and Piper Jaffray raised recommendations for the stock. Goldman labeled Cisco a "conviction buy," its highest rating.

American Express was the Dow's biggest decliner, falling 2.5% after a report from processor First Data showed credit- and debit-card spending grew in July at the slowest rate in 12 months. The report follows an update from American Express on Wednesday that showed slowing growth in customer spending. Visa fell 2%.

J.P. Morgan Chase fell 0.7% after the largest U.S. bank by assets said it would delay a share-buyback program into early 2013. Last month, the bank said it expected to resume share repurchases by the end of this year.

Thursday's gains inched the S&P 500 to three-month highs. The index is cruising toward its fifth straight weekly gain and sits just 1.2% below what would be a four-year high.

Investors said hopes that U.S. and European central bankers will take additional action to shore up economic growth and hold together the euro have sustained the recent advance. On Thursday, diminished expectations for inflation in China prompted speculation that Beijing, too, stands ready to stimulate growth.

"The three biggest central banks in the world are ready to take action. That's good for stocks," said John Fox, director of research and co-portfolio manager at Fenimore Asset Management.

Still, some investors said they have been caught off guard by the run-up.

"Personally, I didn't see it coming," said Scott Armiger, vice president and portfolio manager at Christiana Trust. "I have seen no macroeconomic improvement here, or across the pond, that would put everybody in a better mood. And yet everybody is in a better mood," he said.

In U.S. economic headlines, initial jobless claims, an indicator of cuts to the labor force, fell by 6,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 361,000. Economists had forecast that number would rise to 370,000. Claims from the prior week were revised slightly higher.

A separate report showed the U.S. trade deficit in June fell to its lowest level since 2010, as exports reached a record. Inventories at U.S. wholesalers fell slightly in June, versus expectations for a rise.

The Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.4% for its fifth consecutive day of gains, despite a downbeat survey from the European Central Bank that showed expectations for the euro-zone economy to contract more sharply this year than in previous estimates.

Asian markets closed broadly higher, as the pace of China's consumer price inflation eased in July for the fourth consecutive month. Also, industrial production fell in June to the slowest rate of growth in more than three years. Both readings signaled to some that China's central bank has leeway to use monetary policy in order to prod growth. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to notch gains for the fifth day in a row, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 1.1%.

Crude-oil futures edged up less than 0.1% to settle at $93.36 a barrel, while gold futures advanced 0.3% to settle at $1,617.10 a troy ounce. The U.S. dollar rose against the euro and yen. The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds fell to 1.691%.

In other corporate news, shares of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions surged 18% after the electronic health-record company raised its full-year earnings outlook, though second-quarter results fell short of estimates.

Monster Beverage had the sharpest drop on the S&P 500, falling 9.7%, after the energy-drink maker's second-quarter earnings and revenue missed estimates.

E*Trade Financial jumped 6.9% after its board dismissed Chief Executive Steven Freiberg and named current chairman, Frank Petrilli, as the company's interim CEO while it conducts a search for his replacement.

Wendy's rose 0.9% after the fast-food chain saw improvements in sales and profitability in the second quarter, amid changes to its menu.

Kohl's fell 1.2% after the department-store operator reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that topped analysts' estimates but lowered its full-year outlook.

In deal news, oilfield-services equipment maker National Oilwell Varco rose 0.8% after agreeing to acquire Robbins & Myers, which jumped 27%, for $2.55 billion, a deal that will expand the company's offerings of tools, pumps and valves used in oil production.

-Write to Chris Dieterich at christopher.dieterich@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 09, 2012 16:34 ET (20:34 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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