U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, investors welcoming some positive economic reports of improvement in housing and manufacturing. The reports adding to hopes that the pace of the recession is starting to slow.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 57 points to 8,504. The S&P500 Index up 4 points to 923 and the NASDAQ added 11 to 1,846.
In economic news: The National Association of Realtors reports that pending home sales in the U.S. rose 0.1 per cent in May after rising 7.1 per cent in April. Economists expected sales to be flat.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index increased to a read of 44.8 in June from 42.8 in May. Economists had expected a rise to 44.9.
In company news: Shares in automaker Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) slipped 2.64 per cent to $5.91. The company reported an 11 per cent decline in sales for the month of June compared to a year ago. In a turbulent industry the result was better than most big automaker’s like General Motors who said sales plunged 33 per cent from a year ago.
Manufacturer and marketer of branded foods General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) shares rose 3.86 per cent to $58.18. The company posted a profit for the fourth quarter that was nearly double the year before and forecast earnings for fiscal 2010 above analyst’s expectations.
Shares in insurer American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) plunged 22.07 per cent to $18.08. On Tuesday shareholders approved the company’s proposed 1 for 20 reverse stock split. According to CNN Money shareholders also ousted majority of the company’s board during the meeting as well.
And shares in enterprise software company Oracle Corp (NASDAQ:ORCL) added 1.49 per cent to $21.74. After Caris & Co rated the company ‘above average’ saying that Oracle is well positioned to take advantage of a recovery in IT spending globally, saying its purchase of Sun Microsystems will boost its position in the market. Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: The best performer was Akamai Technologies adding 5.53 per cent to $20.24. Flextronics and Biogen also closed higher.
On the downside, First Solar was the worst performer falling 4.26 per cent to $155.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Dell also closed weaker.
