A roller coaster ride today sent stocks higher at the session’s as big names released Wall Street-beating earnings reports. ended before American Express, the U.S. largest credit card company by purchases, was given a chance to report earnings that beat forecasts of 13 cents per share.
[B][U]US Session Key Developments[/U][/B]
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[li][B]Marriott Beats Earnings Forecasts on Cost Cuts[/B] [/li][li][B]ConocoPhillips Stuns Wall Street With Profits[/B] [/li][li][B]After-Hours Proves Amex’s Stability, Plans to Pay TARP[/B] [/li][/ul] [B][/B]
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[B]Roller Coaster Day Shifts Stocks Higher As Marrriott, ConocoPhilips Beat Estimates[/B]
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A rollercoaster ride today sent stocks higher at the session’s as big names released Wall Street-beating earnings reports. Mariott International, the U.S.’ largest series of hotels, beat earnings estimates of 13 cents per share. The Maryland-based company said that profits from operations came in at 23 cents per share as cost cutting mitigated the effect of continued losses in revenue. Energy giant ConocoPhillips surprised the street as well after reporting losses that underscored analyst estimates. The third-largest producer of oil in the U.S. said that net income fell to 56 cents per share, beating the average forecast by 14 cents per share. Trading ended before American Express, the U.S. largest credit card company by purchases, was given a chance to report earnings that beat forecasts of 13 cents per share. The New York-based company nearly tripled expectations by reporting 32 cent per share in earnings. During the conference call, the CEO of the company, Kenneth Chenault, stated that it planned to repay it’s TARP money in the coming quarter. Indeed, Chenault stated that the release of American Express’ stress tests would undoubtedly show the strength of the credit card behmouth.
[B]Dow 30 7957.06 +70.49 +0.89%[/B]
Dow stocks finished the day near opening levels in a day rollercoaster day that saw the index jump as much as 1.3%. Ultimately, the weight of poorly performing banks brough blue chips down as the threat of continued financial instability loomed over those hoping for a quick economic recovery.
[B]SPX 500 851.92 +8.37 +0.99%[/B]
Financials in the S&P 500 performed the worst, shedding a whopping 3.82% after Morgan Stanley stunned investors with the magnitude of its losses for the first quarter. Implied volatility on the index rose by .96 points, or 2.6%.
[B]NAS 100 1652.21 +6.09 +0.37%[/B]
The tech-laden NASDAQ performed the best throughout the day, gaining as much as 2.07% before bringing shot down by broad financial sentiment. Big movers today included Broadcom which surged 10% after rumors surfaced that Qualcomm would settle a lawusuit with the chip maker after four years of legal pursuits.
[B][U]Notable US Event Risk / Economic Releases[/U][/B]
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