U.S. GDP Growth Rate Revised to 2.5%; Verizon, Vodafone in Venture Talks

Nichole Harper
29 Aug, 2013
New York City

Market indexes on Wall Street traded higher after second quarter economic growth was revised higher and initial jobless claims fell in the last week. Verizon is in talks with Vodafone to gain full control in the wireless venture.

[R]11:10 AM New York – Market indexes on Wall Street traded higher after second quarter economic growth was revised higher and initial jobless claims fell in the last week. Verizon is in talks with Vodafone to gain full control in the wireless venture.[/R]

Stocks were on the rise in New York trading after quarterly economic growth was revised higher and imminent risk to Syria strike receded.

S&P 500 index increased 0.3% to 1,640.01 and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.06% to 3,631.43.

U.S. GDP Growth Revised Higher

Second quarter annualized economic growth rate was revised higher to 2.5% from the initial estimate of 1.7%, the Commerce Department said today in Washington.

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall

A separate report showed initial jobless claims in the second week declined 6,000 to 331,000 from a revised 337,000 claims in the previous week, the Labor Department said today.

European Markets

Vodafone Group and Verizon Communications are in advanced talks to transfer the full control in the Verizon Wireless venture to Verizon. The deal is estimated to be worth $130 billion and talks have been gathering momentum for the last three months.

Unemployment rate in Germany increased in August to 6.8%, the Federal Labor Agency said in Nuremberg today.

Unemployment increased for the first time in three months by a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to 2.95 million.

In London, FTSE 100 index increased 0.8%, in Frankfurt the DAX index edged 0.01% lower and in Paris the CAC 40 index increased 0.3%.

U.S. Stocks in Review

Campbell Soup Co. declined 4% after the company reported lower than expected fourth quarter sales.

Guess? Inc ((GES)) rallied 12% after the apparel retailer said adjusted second-quarter earnings were 52 cents a share, ahead of 34 cents estimated by analysts.

The retailer also lifted its full-year earnings outlook to between $1.78 and $1.92 a share from the previous estimate of $1.70 to $1.90.