Fed May be Forced to Delay Tapering, Google Crosses $1,000

Nichole Harper
18 Oct, 2013
New York City

The latest earnings reports propelled market indexes on Wall Street higher. Google soared past $1,000 after the search engine operator reported better than expected quarterly sales. General Electric also reported higher demand for industrial products.

[R]11:55 AM New York – The latest earnings reports propelled market indexes on Wall Street higher. Google soared past $1,000 after the search engine operator reported better than expected quarterly sales. General Electric also reported higher demand for industrial products.[/R]

U.S. stocks traded higher after the latest earnings reports were ahead of expectations and Fed may be on the defensive to trim the stimulus program this year.

General Electric, Morgan Stanley, Google and Chipotle Mexican Grill reported better than expected earnings.

In addition, investors focused on the next Fed move, now that the U.S. government has reopened and cost of shutdown is estimated to have increased to as high as $30 billion.

The Fed may have to do more heavy lifting and provide monetary stimulus as politicians in Washington still bicker to finalize the budget and tinker with the debt ceiling.

The current Republican Party controlled U.S. House malaise is likely to prevent the government from functioning with clear plan till the elections in November 2014 and limit the economic growth.

As a result, the Fed may be forced to keep its bond purchase program of $85 billion a month till the job markets improve and economic growth picks up.

S&P 500 index increased 0.4% to 1,740.17 and Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.9% to 3,897.71.

Markets in Europe also traded higher following a string of positive earnings and improving global sentiment and better than expected Chinese economic growth data.

The National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing, China said nation’s economy expanded 7.8% in the third quarter from 7.5% in second quarter.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index gained 0.6% or 39.33 to 6,515 and in Frankfurt the DAX index rose 0.3% or 28.03 to 8,840.

In Paris, CAC 40 index increased 0.7% or 31.15 to 4,271.

U.S. Stocks in Review

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc ((CMG)) soared 9% to $477.66 after the restaurant operator said third-quarter net increased 15% on higher advertising linked store traffic.

General Electric ((GE)) increased 2.5% to $25.30 after the diversified conglomerate reported better than expected earnings on higher demand for industrial products.

Google Inc ((GOOG)) soared 12% to $998 and soared as much as $1,007.40 after the largest search engine operator reported better than expected sales of $11.92 billion but cost per clink declined as more people use mobile devices.

Intuitive Surgical Inc ((SRG)) dropped 6% to $375.45 after the maker of surgical robots said third-quarter net income dropped to $156.8 million or $3.99 a share from $183.3 million or $4.46 a share in the period a year ago.

Revenues declined 7.2% to $499 million.

Morgan Stanley ((MS)) increased 1.5% to $29.31 after the brokerage firm reported higher revenues linked to equities trading and expanded margin in wealth management unit.

Schlumberger Ltd ((SLB)) increased 3% to $94.33 after the largest oil-field services provider said September quarter net income increased to $1.7 billion or $1.29 a share from $1.4 billion or $1.07 a share in the period a year ago.