Dow Records Gains For Eight Consecutive Days While S&P 500 Falls (BA, FDX, UPS, NKE, NBR, HP, GME, INTC, PALM)
Dow industrials rose for the eighth consecutive day yesterday, driven by Boeing. However, a range of economic figures released yesterday, such as PPI, kept a check on the broader S&P 500 index.
Boeing (NYSE: BA), which went up 2.15% to $70.87, gave the Dow its biggest boost during the day. BA’s stock was in demand after Bernstein Research reported substantial progress on the 787 program. BA, which marked its highest close yesterday since late June 2008, has so far been the best performing stock in the Dow this year.
During the regular session
FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) advanced 3.2% to close at $92.67. The world's largest package delivery company posted a sharp rise in quarterly profits, exceeding analyst expectations.
Meanwhile, FDX’s rival, United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE: UPS), added 2.45% to $64.42. The Dow Jones Transportation Average (NYSE: DJT), which includes both FDX and UPS, moved up 1%.
Shares of oil service companies fell after UBS slashed its price target on 11 drillers and oil service companies. The investment bank also removed its "short-term buy" rating from Nabors Industries Ltd (NYSE: NBR) and Helmerich & Payne Inc (NYSE: HP). As a result, while NBR lost 4.8% to $20.63, HP slipped 5.3% to $38.88. The PHLX Oil Service Sector index (NYSE: ^OSX) dropped 2.8%.
Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) and GameStop (NYSE: GME), both of which gave impressive results, rallied during the day. While NKE's stock added 5.3% to $74.66, GME’s shares climbed 6.6% to $21.16.
However, Nasdaq's gains were curtailed by Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC), which slipped 0.2% to $22.20 after Macquarie Equities Research started coverage of the stock and the semiconductor sector with a "neutral" rating. The investment bank expected utilization rates for the chip arena to peak over the next couple of quarters.
After the bell
Shares of Palm Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) dropped 13.5% to $4.89 after the company announced that its fiscal fourth quarter revenues may fall significantly short of expectations on dismal smartphone sales.
