US Stocks End Higher; Citigroup Jumps Nearly 4%
Stocks ended higher Monday, led by health care, as passage of the health-care bill lifted uncertainty surrounding the legislation that was hanging over the market.
The Dow gained 43.91, or 0.4%, to close at 10,785.89 - the latest in a string of 1 1/2-year highs - though volume was light once again. The S&P 500 added 0.5% and the Nasdaq jumped 0.9%.
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved the health-care bill, which expands coverage to nearly all Americans and delivers a landmark victory to President Obama.
Health-care stocks had been beaten down in the months leading up to the bill's passage. Now, with the uncertainty about the legislation lifted, market pros are saying they think health care will outperform the broader market. The sector finished mostly higher.
Boeing advanced after Oppenheimer raised its rating on the stock to "outperform" from "underperform" and Barclays raised its price target on the stock to $87 from $65 with an "overweight" rating. This came after the aerospace giant announced it was ramping up production of some jets to meet demand last week.
Citigroup was on fire today, up 3.6%, after Rochdale analyst Dick Bove upgraded his rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral," saying the company has enough liquidity to offload problem assets and support long-term growth.
Ford shares jumped another 5%. The stock hit a five-year high last week after Moody's upgraded its debt rating on the automaker and said it had the potential to improve its finances even more.
Google shares fell about 0.5% after the Internet titan redirected its China search site to its Hong Kong site amid a flap with China over censorship.
Monday brought the latest quarterly results coming from household products seller Williams-Sonoma and high-end retailer Tiffany .
Williams-Sonoma shares jumped over 12% after the retailer beat profit expectations as it kept a lid on costs and enjoyed robust holiday sales.
Tiffany shares edged 0.3% after the high-end jeweler missed its fourth-quarter earnings target but projected its full-year profit would beat expectations.
No comments:
Post a Comment