US midday: Equities edge higher on the back of economic data
- US equities register slight gains
- M&A news dominates
- Durable goods orders soar
Dow Jones Industrial: 0.30%
Nasdaq Composite: 0.26%
S&P 500: 0.20%
US stocks jumped after reports showed durable goods and consumer confidence in the world's biggest economy rose more than forecast.
US durable goods surged 22.6% in July, following a 2.7% gain in June, driven by aircraft orders. Analysts had expected an 8% increase.
"Overall, with some producers starting to push up against capacity constraints and loans to businesses rising at a rapid rate, we suspect that investment will prove to be one of the economy's bright spots in the second half of this year," Capital Economics said.
The index for US consumer confidence rose to 92.4 in August from a revised 90.3 in July, surprising analysts who had expected a reading of 89.
However, expectations of the economic outlook fell slightly to 90.9 from 91.9 in July.
"While the expectations index has been volatile in recent years, the present situation index has been steadily trending higher over that time, mirroring improvements in housing and labour markets," Barclays Research said.
"We expect this pattern to continue over the medium-term and look for consumer confidence to remain on a broadly upward trend as a result."
M&A activity still heavy
In corporate news, Tim Hortons advanced after Burger King Worldwide agreed to acquire the company in a C$12.5bn cash-and-share deal.
Stock of fashion retailer Ann Taylor gained. Reuters reported the company had hired JP Morgan to explore a potential sale.
Premier climbed after predicting full-year profit that exceeded analysts' estimates. The purchasing network also agreed to buy software company Aperek.
Best Buy slumped after posting a sales decline that was lower than forecast.
From a sector standpoint the largest gains were being seen in the following industrial groups: gold mining (1.63%), platinum and precious metal miners (1.57%) and oil equipment (1.36%).
Yields and crude futures move higher
The 10-year treasury yield edged higher by one basis point to 2.39%.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures were also moving slightly higher, by 0.31% to $93.64 per barrel, according to the ICE.
S&P 500 - Risers
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $95.40 +4.13%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $26.58 +3.32%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $137.21 +3.31%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $44.62 +3.24%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $342.33 +3.24%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $38.64 +3.10%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $70.35 +2.63%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $172.43 +2.50%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $212.67 +2.21%
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) $43.00 +2.14%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $29.94 -6.41%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $52.01 -1.33%
Edison International (EIX) $57.84 -1.30%
Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) $40.40 -1.27%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $51.85 -1.24%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $106.14 -1.22%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $40.06 -1.14%
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $37.04 -1.12%
Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) $21.45 -1.11%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $34.49 -1.09%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $99.87 +1.13%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.21 +1.04%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $24.89 +0.95%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $60.22 +0.82%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $84.92 +0.81%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $192.68 +0.80%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $59.75 +0.69%
Visa Inc. (V) $217.46 +0.67%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $128.64 +0.63%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.57 +0.39%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
General Electric Co. (GE) $26.07 -0.52%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $44.97 -0.44%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $79.70 -0.39%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $90.06 -0.35%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.74 -0.20%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $75.56 -0.18%
American Express Co. (AXP) $89.46 -0.15%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $94.36 -0.08%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $109.74 -0.07%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.13 -0.04%
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