Yellen Comments Lift Sentiment, Durable Goods Orders Fall 1%

Nichole Harper
27 Feb, 2014
New York City

U.S. stocks traded higher and Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank is prepared to change is economic stimulus tapering program should the economy weaken. Durable goods orders declined 1% in January. Weekly jobless claims in last week increased 14,000.

[R]1:30 PM New York – U.S. stocks traded higher and Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank is prepared to change is economic stimulus tapering program should the economy weaken. Durable goods orders declined 1% in January. Weekly jobless claims in last week increased 14,000.[/R]

Stocks in New York climbed the wall of worries and investors digested another batch of earnings dominated by retailers and the yield on U.S. Treasuries fell to two-week lows on Ukraine’s uncertainty.

Yellen Reiterates Taper Commitment

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in her semi-annual report before the Senate Banking committee said harsh winter weather can only partly explain the recent weakness in economic data.

Yellen reiterated Fed’s commitment to continue its tapering its economic stimulus program.

Durable Goods Orders Fall 1%

Durable goods orders fell 1% in January, a report from the Commerce Department noted today. The decline was less than expected and orders for December were revised to a larger slump of 5.3%.

Weekly Jobless Claims Rise

U.S. claims of jobless benefits in last week increased 14,000 to 348,000, higher than the claims in the previous week of 334,000.

The Labor Department reported the data today for the week ending on Feb 22.

S&P 500 index increased 4.02 or 0.2% to 1,849.16 and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.4% or 15.12 to 4,307.11.

European Markets

European markets fell after Russia said it has initiated military exercises near the Crimean border. Lawmakers in Ukraine’s capital elected former economy minister Arseny Yatseniuk as prime minister.

The ousted premier Viktor Yanukovich said he was still president, according to a statement sent to Russian news agencies. Yanukovich’s whereabouts are unknown.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index fell 0.1% or 7.93 to 6,790.15 and in Frankfurt the DAX index slipped 1.07% or 103.61 to 9,558.12.

In Paris, CAC 40 index slid 0.3% or 14.26 to 4,383.46.

U.S. Stocks in Review

Best Buy Co., Inc ((BBY)) climbed 5.1% or $1.37 to $27.19 after the consumer electronics retailer reported revenue in the fourth-quarter ending on February 1 dropped 3% to $14.47 billion. Comparable store sales in the quarter slipped 1.2% and online comparable sales surged 25.8%.

Net in the quarter swung to a profit $293 million or 88 cents a diluted share compared to a loss of $409 million or $1.36.

J.C. Penney Company, Inc ((JCP)) soared 24% or $1.42 to $7.38 after the retailer reported latest quarter sales declined 2.6% to $3.78 billion and gross margin widened to 28.4% from 23.8%.

Quarterly earnings swung to profit of $35 million from $552 million loss and earnings per share were 11 cents compared to a loss of $2.51.

Excluding one-time tax benefit of 88 cents in the recent quarter, adjusted loss was 68 cents.

Kohl's Corporation ((KSS)) rose 29 cents to $54.73 after the department stores operator stated total sales in the fourth-quarter ending on February 1 slumped 3.8% to $6.10 billion. Comparable store sales in the quarter fell 2%.

Net income in the quarter plunged 12% to $334 million or $1.56 a diluted share compared to $378 million or $1.66.

Kohl's lifted its total sales forecast for the year between 0.5% and 2.5% and comparable sales to rise up to 2% and diluted earnings per share in the range of $4.05 to $4.45.

Sears Holdings Corp ((SHLD)) jumped 5.3% or $2.15 to $42.55 after the specialty retailer reported revenues in the fourth-quarter ending on February 1 declined 13.6% to $10.59 billion.

Net loss in the quarter narrowed to $358 million or $3.37 a diluted share compared to $489 million or $4.61.