1:15pm (EST)
The market has made its way into positive territory after spending much of today’s session in negative territory. The charge has been led by financial stocks, which are now up after they were down sharply earlier this morning.
The retail sector has also helped the bulls’ case thanks in part to a bunch of stronger-than-expected monthly sales results. In fact, the S&P 500 Retail Index is up 0.4% at the moment which has helped to limit the consumer discretionary sector’s slide to just 0.1%.
A disappointing report on initial jobless claims led to the weak open. The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week, jumping 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 460,000. Wall Street pencil pushers forecast a drop to 435,000.
As a result, the Dow is currently up 26 points to 10,923 while the S&P 500 is higher by 2 to 1,184. The Nasdaq is showing a 5 point gain and is at 2,436.
Turning to earnings, Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY, $46.35, up $1.88) reported a blowout quarter and we have mentioned the stock all week on our Watch List inside our Members Area.
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The company posted a 4Q profit of $226 million, or $0.86 a share, versus $141 million, or $0.55 a share, in the year ago period. Revenue climbed 17% to $2.2 billion, as “3B” added 17 stores in the quarter. Wall Street had expected earnings of 73 cents on sales of $2.1 billion for the company.
For the full year, 3B earned $600 million, or $2.30 a share versus the previous year’s profit of $425 million, or $1.64 a share.
We have a lot to cover today in our Members Area so let’s get to it.
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