US stocks closed slightly higher overnight after Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) and Citigroup’s (NYSE:C) quarterly results fell short of some investors' expectations, just a day after major indexes rallied to fresh highs for 2009.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 47 points to 10,063. The S&P500 Index added 5 points to 1,097 and the NASDAQ finished 1 point higher at 2,173.
On the economic news front: The Consumer Price index rose 0.2% in September, after rising 0.4% in August.
Around 514,000 people filed new claims for unemployment last week, versus 524,000 in the previous week. While continuing claims fell to 5.992 million from 6.067 million in the previous week.
Two regional manufacturing reports were also released. The Philadelphia Fed index dipped to 11.5 in October from 14.1 the previous month.
The Empire State Manufacturing Index rose to 34.57 in October from 18.88 in September.
In company news: Citigroup (NYSE:C) shares fell 5% to $4.75. The company reported a quarterly loss overnight due to the ongoing impact of the credit crisis. But the loss was narrower than analysts had been expecting.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) shares lost 1.9% to $188.63, after reporting a $3.2 billion quarterly profit thanks to strength in its trading business. The company's chief executive said the strong quarter was due to signs of stabilization and growth across a variety of sectors.
Nokia (NYSE:NOK) shares fell 11.11% to $13.68. The cellphone maker delivered a surprise third-quarter loss and reported a decline in smartphone sales from the previous quarter.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares dipped 1.01% to $529.91 but its shares rose in after hours trade. The internet search engine reported an increased in quarterly profit and sales from a year-earlier. Google’s net income was $1.64 billion in the third quarter, that’s up 27% from the same period last year.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: The best performer was Stericycle adding 5.02% to $52.12. CA and Foster Wheeler were the next best in line. Seagate Technology was the worst performer, falling 3.54% to $15.54. Marvel Technology Group and Wynn Resorts also finished lower.
