U.S. Indexes Rebound from a 3-day Drop, Weekly Jobless Claims Fall

Nichole Harper
21 Nov, 2013
New York City

U.S. market indexes advanced and earnings dominated sentiment. Initial weekly jobless claims in the last week declined 21,000 to 323,000. Wholesale prices fell in October. Sears loss widened and Target earnings fell.

[R]1:00 PM New York – U.S. market indexes advanced and earnings dominated sentiment. Initial weekly jobless claims in the last week declined 21,000 to 323,000. Wholesale prices fell in October. Sears loss widened and Target earnings fell.[/R]

U.S. stocks advanced and initial weekly jobless claims declined and investors focused on latest batch of earnings.

S&P 500 index increased 0.6% or 11.17 to 1,792.54 and Nasdaq Composite added 36.70 or 0.9% to 3,957.97.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index rose 0.05% or 3.65 to 6,685 and in Frankfurt the DAX index fell 0.2% or 14.55 to 9,188.

In Paris, CAC 40 index slipped 0.3% or 11.87 to 4,256.

Weekly Jobless Claims Drop 21,000

U.S. weekly jobless claims declined by 21,000 to 323,000 in the week ending on November 16.

Jobless claims in the previous week were revised to 344,000, the Labor Department said today in a report.

The four-week moving average of new claims declined to 6,750 to 338,500.

In a separate report the department said seasonally adjusted producer price index declined 0.2% in October from 0.1% decline in September. The decline in gasoline prices helped prices to moderate.

Wholesale prices increased 0.3% in a year to October and core prices excluding food and energy increased 0.2% after rising 0.1% in September.

U.S. Stocks in Review

Dollar Tree Inc ((DLTR)) declined 5% to $56.29 after the deep discount retailer reported less-than-expected third-quarter and lowered upper end of its full-year revenue outlook.

GameStop Corp ((GME)) declined 7% to $48.55 after video game retailer estimated lower than expected fourth-quarter net profit outlook.

General Motors Company ((GM)) increased 2.4% to $38.61 after the U.S. Treasury said it plans to sell rest of its stake in the automaker before the year-end.

Treasury did not provide any time table to sell 31.1 million shares it holds in the company.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc ((GMCR)) soared 15% to $70.99 after the maker single-serve coffee machines and pods reported adjusted fourth-quarter profit increased to 89 cents a share.

Johnson Controls ((JCI)) increased 7% to $51.34 and the auto-parts and controls maker lifted its quarterly dividend by 16% to 22 cents a share.

Sears Holdings ((SHLD)) declined 1.9% after the retailer said its quarterly loss widened because of larger than estimated discounting at retail chains Sears and Kmart.

Target ((TGT)) declined 3% to $64.62 after the second-largest discount retailer reported third-quarter net declined 46% to 54 cents a share from 96 cents a share.

Williams-Sonoma Inc ((WSM)) increased 6% to $58.94 after the home appliance and accessories retailer lifted its profit outlook on higher than expected same-store sales.