Stocks trade mixed as investors sort through uneven earnings reports; jobless claims rise

Stocks trade mixed on uneven profit, economic data

NEW YORK — Stocks mostly rose Thursday as investors sorted through a pile of uneven earnings reports and mixed economic reports.

The moves came after a late-day slide pushed major indexes lower on Wednesday. Lingering concerns over whether investors had been too optimistic about an economic rebound fed into the drop. Overseas markets fell as a result.

A rising dollar Thursday hurt commodity prices and, in turn, weighed on energy and materials stocks.

Investors are poring over earnings reports from a range of industries for insight into the strength of the economy, which is still under pressure because of high unemployment.

Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc., printer and copier supply company Xerox Corp. and Dow Chemical Co. all reported weakening sales, but were still able to beat profit expectations.

Online retailer eBay Inc.’s forecast for the fourth quarter, which contains the holiday shopping season, was at the low end of analyst expectations. The stock fell, weighing on the Nasdaq composite index.

Manufacturer 3M Co., insurer Travelers Cos., AT&T Inc. and McDonald’s Corp. posted stronger results than analysts had forecast. The stocks rose, making the Dow Jones industrial average the best performer among the major indexes.

Jeffrey Beamer, Portfolio Manager of Lacerte Capital in Dallas, said the reports showing improved profits but still-weak revenue raise questions about how long the market will be able to hold its gains of the past seven months. Cost-cutting, he noted, can only help so much.

“You may look great this quarter but what are you going to do in the coming quarters,” Beamer said. “If the earnings aren’t just really solid we could get a decent pullback here.”

In early afternoon trading, the Dow rose 79.27, or 0.8 percent, to 10,028.63.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.77, or 0.3 percent, to 1,084.17. The Nasdaq fell 2.49, or 0.1 percent, to 2,148.24.

Rising stocks narrowly outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 634.4 million shares compared with 608.4 million traded at the same point Wednesday.

Bond prices fell, pushing yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.43 percent from 3.39 percent late Wednesday.

The Labor Department said workers filing for unemployment benefits for the first time rose more than expected last week. New unemployment benefits claims rose to 531,000 last week from 520,000 the previous week. Economists had expected only a slight increase, according to Thomson Reuters.

A private forecast of economic activity rose for the sixth straight month in September. The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators rose 1 percent last month after a 0.4 percent gain in August. Economists expected an increase of 0.8 percent last month, according to Thomson Reuters.

The mixed earnings signals continue to show an economy in flux.

Credit card lenders American Express Co. and Capital One Financial Corp. should provide clues into whether consumers are still struggling to repay loans, which has been a major problem for nearly the entire financial sector for the past two years. Both report after the market closes.

Among companies reporting earnings, Philip Morris International fell $1.71, or 3.4 percent, to $49.11, Xerox rose 31 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $8.03 and Dow Chemical rose 24 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $24.74.

Ebay fell $1.59, or 6.4 percent, to $23.44.

3M advanced $2.47, or 3.2 percent, to $78.80, while Travelers added $2.64, or 5.5 percent, to rise to $50.66. AT&T rose 28 cents, or 1 percent, to $26.22. McDonald’s rose $1.58, or 2.7 percent, to $59.91.

Crude fell 73 cents to $80.64 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.82, or 0.1 percent, to 605.93.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.6 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 1 percent, Germany’s DAX index dropped 1.2 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 1.4 percent.