U.S. Stocks Move Higher; Construction and Manufacturing Sectors Struggle

Nichole Harper
01 May, 2015
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street bounced from the decline of last two days as consumer confidence jumped to the second-highest level in eight years but manufacturing and construction industries struggled. GM said auto sales in April jumped and Ford sales gained 5.4%.

[R]1:55 PM – Stocks on Wall Street bounced from the decline of last two days as consumer confidence jumped to the second-highest level in eight years but manufacturing and construction industries struggled. GM said auto sales in April jumped and Ford sales gained 5.4%.[/R]

Market indexes on Wall Street bounced back from steep losses of last two days and two private surveys showed positive economic data.

March construction spending dropped 0.6% at annual rate of $966.6 billion from the revised February estimate of $972.9 billion but rose 2% from a year ago spending of $947.3 billion, the Department of Commerce reported.

Manufacturing activities in April tracked by Institute for Supply Management was unchanged. The index was unchanged at 51.5, any reading above 50 indicates expansion and below a contraction.

A private survey showed that the consumer sentiment jumped to the second-highest level since 2007.

On Wall Street, Tollbooth Strategy Index gained 0.4% or 39.37 to 10,664.62.

S&P 500 index jumped 13.02 or 0.6% to 2,098.53 and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 35.30 or 0.7% to 4,976.72.

Crude oil in New York slipped 88 cents to $58.75 a barrel and gold declined $9.80 to $1,172.60 an ounce.

U.S. Movers

Chevron Corporation ((CVX)) slipped 1.2% or $1.35 to $109.71 after the petroleum refiner and retailer reported revenues in the first-quarter ending in March plunged 35.1% to $34.56 billion from a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter tumbled 43% to $2.57 billion or $1.37 per diluted share compared to $4.51 billion or $2.36 from the same quarter last year.

Ford Motor Company ((F)) slid 2 cents to $15.78 after the automaker said total U.S. sales in April jumped 5.4% to 222,498 vehicles and retail sales jumped 7% while fleet sales edged up to 1%.

Mustang sales surged 81% to 13,144 vehicles and continue to be strong with the F-Series.

General Motors Company ((GM)) fell 15 cents to $34.90 after the automaker reported total U.S. sales in April climbed 5.9% to 269,056 vehicles.

Retail sales jumped 5.3% and fleet sales soared 8% and commercial sales were the highest since March 2008.

LinkedIn Corp ((LNKD)) tumbled 19.7% or $49.47 to $202.57 after the professional networking site operator said revenues in the first-quarter ending in March surged 35% to $637.7 million from a year ago period.

Net loss in the quarter widened to $42.5 million or 34 cents per diluted share compared to $13.4 million or 11 cents from the same quarter last year.

The company forecasted revenue for the second-quarter between $670 million and $675 million and adjusted earnings per share of about 28 cents.

For the year, LinkedIn forecasted revenues of about $2.90 billion and adjusted earnings per share of about $1.90 from earlier estimated revenue between $2.93 billion to $2.95 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $2.95.

Twitter Inc ((TWTR)) slumped 1.9% or 74 cents to $38.22 after the social media networking site said revenues in the first-quarter ending in March surged 74% to $435.9 million from a year ago period.

Net loss in the quarter widened to $162.4 million or 25 cents per diluted share compared to a loss of $132.4 million or 23 cents from the same quarter last year.

European Markets

In London trading, FTSE 100 index edged up 5 to 6,965.63 and in Frankfurt the DAX index increased 0.2% or 21.66 to 11,454.38.

In Paris, CAC 40 index rose 0.1% or 7.10 to 5,046.49.

For the week, FTSE 100 index decreased 1.3% and in Frankfurt the DAX index declined 2%. In Paris, CAC 40 index dropped 1.6%.

Continental AG slipped 1.2% to €210.65 after the Germany-based auto parts supplier reported sales in the first-quarter ending in March surged 14% to €9.6 billion and operating profit estimated of about €1 billion from a year ago period.

The company said integration costs and one-time expenses for Veyance of €37 million had a negative effect on the first-quarter results.

Deutsche Boerse AG jumped 2.8% to €74.31 after the Germany-based stock exchange operator reported revenues in the first-quarter ending in March climbed 15.3% to €679.8 million from €589.8 million in a year ago period.

Net profit in the quarter dropped 1% from a year ago to €235.5 million compared to €237.9 million and earnings per share slipped to €1.21 from €1.25.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc soared 7.3% to 83.03 pence after the U.K.-based financial services provider reported net interest income in the first-quarter ending in March jumped 3% to £4.64 billion from £4.53 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the quarter plunged 19% from a year ago to £944 million compared to £1.16 billion and earnings per share slipped to 1.2 pence from 1.6 pence.

Lloyds reported impairment charge in the quarter reduced by 59% to £177 million.

The bank said it incurred a loss related to the TSB sale of £660 million and pre-tax profit and the sale of TSB soared 37% to £1.87 billion.

In March, the lender agreed to sell its 9.99% stake in TSB to a Spain-based financial institute Banco de Sabadell SA.

Asian Markets

Market indexes in Japan closed higher ahead of Golden Week holiday through May 6. Core consumer price index increased for the first time in a year.

Jobless rate improved to 3.4% and household spending dropped in March. Sony estimated operating profit in the current fiscal year.

Investors stayed away from trading and took in stride the latest inflation and jobless rate data.

The unemployment rate in Japan improved for the second month in a row and the seasonally adjusted rate in March declined to 3.4%, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

The labor force participation rate in month was unchanged at 59.1% and the job-to-applicants ratio remained unchanged at 1.15, showing there are 115 jobs available for every 100 applicants.

Separately, the government report showed inflation in March rose for the first time in almost a year.

Core consumer price index, excluding prices of food and energy, rose 0.2%, the first monthly price increase since April of last year.

Despite the latest price increase many economists believe the slack in the economy is too large and it is too early to talk about a rebound in prices because prices of consumer goods and manufactured products are showing no signs of an increase.

Household spending dropped 10.6% in March from a year ago month when consumer spending surged ahead of a sales tax increase in April 2014.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 11.62 to 19,531.63 and the broader Topix index slid 7.18 to 1,585.61.

For the week, the Nikkei 225 index declined 0.6%.

The yen closed at 119.83 against a dollar.

Sony Corporation ((SNE)) decreased 0.4% 3,628.50 yen after the electronic products maker reported sales revenues in the year ending in March climbed 5.8% to 8.22 trillion yen from 7.77 trillion yen in a year ago period.

Net loss in the year narrowed to 126 billion yen compared to 128.4 billion yen and diluted loss per share declined to 113.04 yen from 124.09 yen in the same period a year ago.

The company forecasted operating profits for the year ending in March 2016 to jump to 320 billion yen or $2.7 billion.

Sony said sales of Play Station 4 reached 22.3 million units by the end of March, the most profitable product for the company.