Jobless Claims Fall – Acadiana Business Index

Markets managed to gain ground in a volatile trading session. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

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• The Dow closed up 26 points to 13103. The S&P 500 Index gained 4 points to 2986 and the NASDAQ also increased 4 points to 2986.
• Earnings results helped stocks snap a string of losses. Procter & Gamble gained $1.99 to $70.07 as a reduction in manufacturing costs led the company to a better than expected profit tally. Aetna’s earnings report also topped street estimates to push its shares up 48 cents to $44.43.
• However, losses in materials limited gains. Cliffs Natural Resources led the group lower as it dropped $4.49 to $38.20 after earnings fell short of expectations.
• Profit tallies will stay in focus after the close with reports due out from Apple and Amazon.com.
• Investors also digested a batch of mixed economic data. The employment situation improved as jobless claims fell last week to 369,000 and durable goods orders jumped 9.9% in September. On the downside, pending home sales gained 0.3% which failed to meet expectations for an advance of 2.5%.
• Overall, NYSE Composite volume totaled over 3.4 billion shares. The NYSE was 3-2 positive on issues and 11-8 positive on volume.
• On the NASDAQ, advancers beat decliners by 7-5 on issues and by 5-4 on volume.
• In fixed-income, Treasuries fell and the government’s 7-year note auction received weaker than average demand. The 10-year note was down 10/32 to yield 1.83% and the 30-year bond lost 15/32 to yield 2.98%.

For the complete report, click Ken’s Market Report.