US midday: Equities move higher on Ukraine hopes
- Equities gain following Putin remarks
- Large fall in oil futures
- Airlines, Brewers and home construction in the lead
Dow Jones Industrials: 0.33%
Nasdaq Composite: 0.32%
S&P 500: 0.37%
US stocks were higher late in the afternoon amid speculation that the turmoil in Ukraine will not escalate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will do everything it can to stop the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Speaking to Russian ministers and members of parliament in Crimea, Putin said the nation would stand up for itself but not at the expense of confrontation with the rest of the world.
"We must calmly, with dignity and effectively, build up our country, not fence it off from the outside world," Putin said, according to Reuters. "We need to consolidate and mobilise but not for war or any kind of confrontation [...] for hard work in the name of Russia."
Back in the US, the Labor Department revealed applications for unemployment benefits Stateside rose more than forecast in the week ended 9 August. Jobless claims climbed by 21,000 to 311,000, the highest in six weeks, after a print of 290,000 a week earlier. Economists had predicted 295,000 claims.
"While the latest reading on initial claims was higher than expected, the four-week average has risen only slightly from the eight-year low reached last week, and the level of continuing claims remains low," Barclays Research said. "Thus, we still would view the claims data as consistent with a labour market that is improving."
Import prices declined by 0.2% month-on-month in July (consensus: -0.3%).
Acting as a backdrop, oil was moving quickly to the downside as sellers continued to step in on the heels of weak economic growth data in France and Germany published earlier in the day.
Oil equipment stocks lead fallers
In corporate news, Kohl's Corp. rallied after the department-store chain reported second quarter results that exceeded analysts' estimates.
Cisco slumped as the world's largest networking-equipment maker said it would cut another 6,000 jobs after reporting a fall in fourth quarter income.
Wal-Mart Stores declined after the world's largest retailer reported stagnant same-store sales in the last quarter and cut its 2014 profit forecast due to slow traffic at its supercenters.
From a sector standpoint the biggest gains were seen in the following sectors: Brewers (2.83%), Airlines (2.47%) and Home construction (1.96%). Oil equipment stocks led fallers.
Crude futures slip below 200-day moving average again
Front month West Texas crude futures were 2.09% lower to $95.55/barrel on the NYMEX.
US 10-year Treasury bond yields were three basis points lower at 2.40%.
S&P 500 - Risers
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $147.93 +6.31%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $131.77 +4.31%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $333.00 +4.28%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $167.10 +4.04%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $40.85 +3.94%
Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $73.75 +3.65%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $53.07 +3.39%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $335.73 +3.31%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $56.43 +3.31%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $58.58 +3.13%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $25.90 -3.52%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $99.14 -3.05%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $132.26 -2.84%
Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) $66.98 -2.79%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $103.85 -2.35%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $24.58 -2.27%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $67.98 -2.24%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $200.59 -2.10%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $23.09 -2.06%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $80.92 -1.58%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.80 +2.03%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $28.75 +1.92%
Boeing Co. (BA) $124.19 +1.81%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $88.88 +1.46%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $58.55 +1.21%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $92.18 +1.00%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $83.79 +0.81%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $44.40 +0.74%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.96 +0.59%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $105.78 +0.59%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $24.58 -2.27%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $93.43 -0.57%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $126.88 -0.56%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $77.09 -0.21%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $187.66 -0.15%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $98.94 -0.15%
American Express Co. (AXP) $87.28 -0.14%
General Electric Co. (GE) $25.81 -0.08%
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