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Stocks rise on news of saddam sons dead Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://biz.yahoo.com/cbsm-top/030722/8f2a4bab1f20bf11b0b825ee45541edd_1.htmlhttp://biz.yahoo.com/cbsm-top/030722/8f2a4bab1f20bf11b0b825ee45541edd_1.html
CBS MarketWatch
U.S. stocks rise on report Saddam's sons are dead
Tuesday July 22, 2:19 pm ET
By Steve Gelsi
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed its downward course and headed higher Tuesday on reports that two of Saddam Hussein's sons were killed in a firefight in Iraq.
U.S. officials were examining the bodies of two men killed in the shootout in the northern city Mosul to see if they are Saddam Hussein's sons Odai and Qusai. It may take weeks before their identities are determined. See related story.
The development is sparking some trading," said Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist at PNC Advisors. "Whenever we see one of these reports, we get a reaction by traders. The sustainability of this will depend on whether we get confirmation."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (CBOT:^DJI - News) rose 41 points, or 0.5 percent, at 9,136. The Nasdaq (NasdaqSC:^IXIC - News) jumped 20 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,702. The S&P 500 (CBOE:^SPX - News) added 7 points, or 0.7 percent, to 986.
Advancing stocks outpaced decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by 16 to 15, while trading volume came in at 914 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers led decliners by 18 to 12, with volume at 1.17 billion shares.
Brokerage stocks (AMEX:^XBD - News) jumped 1.1 percent. Chip stocks (Philadelphia:^SOXX - News) rose 2.7 percent. Airline shares (AMEX:^XAL - News) rallied 2.2 percent. Paper stocks (Philadelphia:^FPP - News) gave up 0.2 percent.
Earlier, the market had been mixed as traders digested a plethora of earnings reports, as well as action on the merger front, with Lehman Brothers announcing an expected purchase of Neuberger Berman.
Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN - News) fueled chip stocks with a gain of 7.2 percent to $19.17. Its net income and sales slightly surpassed targets for the quarter, but the company is still cautious. CFO Bill Aylesworth said TI remains concerned about excess inventory built up by its customers that manufacture cell phones.
Big cap stocks are in the spotlight, with Dow component General Electric (NYSE:GE - News) drawing a Merrill Lynch downgrade on its 2003 earnings forecast to $1.57 from $1.59 per share.
The broker said the move was "largely driven by reduced expectations for plastics and incremental adjustments for early retirement charges in the third quarter of 2003." GE shares rose 23 cents to $27.39.
Eastman Kodak (NYSE:EK - News) , a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, shed 4.4 percent to a new 52-week low of $24.25 after Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating on the company to "BBB" -- two notches above "junk" status. The move came after Kodak said it was buying dental imaging software company PracticeWorks for $500 million in cash. Fitch Ratings affirmed its "BBB" rating -- two notches above "junk" status -- on Eastman Kodak's senior unsecured debt, but changed the outlook to "negative" from "stable."
United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - News) fell 54 cents to $64.25 after the company reported second-quarter net income of $692 million, or 61 cents a share, up from $611 million, or 54 cents a share in the same period a year ago, and above the average analyst forecast compiled by Reuters Research of 59 cents a share. Total revenue rose 7.1 percent to $8.23 billion, topping analyst expectations of $8.12 billion.
Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH - News) said it will acquire Neuberger Berman (NYSE:NEU - News) in a transaction valued at about $2.625 billion as of Tuesday morning. The deal includes $42 million of in-the-money options and less $255 million in net excess cash as of June 30 and excluded 1.6 million unvested restricted shares in employee compensation plans. Under the terms of the agreement, based on Tuesday's closing stock price, each Neuberger Berman shareholder would receive an implied price of $41.48 per share consisting of $9.49 in cash and 0.496 shares of Lehman Brothers common stock. The merger had been expected for weeks.
Lehman stock rose 1.5 percent to $65.46 and Neuberger shares edged up 6 cents to $40.50.
Overall, Wall Street is eyeing more mergers both within the financial sector and elsewhere.
Household products giant Colgate Palmolive (NYSE:CL - News) stock fell 17 cents to $56.13 after it reported second-quarter earnings per share that met Wall Street estimates as all its businesses recorded volume gains.
The company earned net income of $359.8 million, or 62 cents per share in the latest quarter, versus $327 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $2.46 billion in the quarter, compared to $2.30 billion a year ago.
Financial sector earnings
Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC - News) shares rose 3.6 percent to $68.01 after the mortgage giant reported second-quarter earnings of $2.74 per share, up from $1.48 a share last year. The company said it saw revenue in the period of $1.739 billion vs. $977.43 million. Countrywide pegged 2003 earnings in the range of $13 to $15 a share, ahead of the Wall Street estimate for earnings of $10.76 per share.
Discount Internet broker Ameritrade Holdings (NasdaqNM:AMTD - News) shares jumped 6.8 percent to $8.81 after it reported third-quarter income of $49.9 million, or 12 cents a share vs. 3 cents a share a year ago. Net revenue rose to $188.5 million vs. $100.3 million a year ago. Ameritrade said it opened 93,000 new accounts in the quarter. The online broker beat the Wall Street forecast of 10 cents per share by 2 cents.
Earnings parade
After the bell on Tuesday, Amazon (NasdaqNM:AMZN - News) and Siebel Systems (NasdaqNM:SEBL - News) are expected to report quarterly results.
Kodak, America Online (NYSE:AOL - News) and Anheuser Busch (NYSE:BUD - News) are due out with their latest financial reports on Wednesday.
In other market action, gold futures closed at $350.70 an ounce, down 30 cents after a four-session climb. Prices touched a three-week high above $352 earlier in the session, but fell as reports that two of Saddam Hussein's sons were killed in Iraq lifted the broader stock market.
In the bond market, a 10-year Treasury note recently traded unchanged at 95 11/32 to yield (CBOE:^TNX - News) 4.21, matching the December high hit in Monday's session. The yield in mid-June was at a 45-year low 3.07 percent.
Crude for August delivery fell $1.08 to trade at $30.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It's the lowest level in about two weeks. September crude, which becomes the lead-month contract for futures after the session's close, fell $1.01 to $29.82 a barrel.
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