Monday
Equity markets gained Monday on the heels of strong earnings
reports and continued merger and acquisition activity. Google (GOOG) rose 1.7% after announcing it would acquire Double Click for approximately $3.1 billion. Educational lender
SLM Corp. (SLM), also known as Sallie Mae, confirmed it was being acquired by two private equity firms for $25 billion.
Wachovia (WB) rose 1.96% after first quarter earnings exceeded analyst expectations. For the day, the
DJIA rose 0.86% and the S&P 500 rose 1.07%.
Tuesday
Markets were mixed on Tuesday following a series strong earnings announcements.
EMC Corp (EMC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Coca-Cola (KO) all moved higher on better-than-expected earnings.
Black & Decker (BDK) also moved higher after the company boosted its first quarter EPS outlook.
TD Ameritrade (AMTD) fell 9.25% after fiscal second quarter earnings were below expectations. The
DJIA and S&P rose 0.41% and 0.21% respectively.
Wednesday
A stream of earnings announcements continued to move the markets on Wednesday.
Motorola (MOT) and JP Morgan (JPM) both rose on better-than-expected earnings, while
International Business Machines (IBM) fell despite better than expected earnings. Shares of
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) slid 12.58% after missing expectations because of increased competition and a slower-than-expected launch of the company’s new advertising system. The
DJIA rose 0.24% while the NASDAQ dropped 0.26%.
Thursday
Inflation concerns in China kept the markets in check on Thursday. Investors became concerned the Chinese central bank would raise interest rates to curtail inflation after a report stated the economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace of 11.1% in the first quarter. In corporate news,
eBay (EBAY) fell despite solid first quarter earnings and Altria Group (MO) fell after earnings came in below expectations. Shares of
Amgen (AMGN) rose after a phase III study showed anemia drug Aranesp does not pose a greater risk of death for patients with small-cell lung cancer. The
DJIA rose 0.04% and the S&P 500 slid 0.12%.
Earnings reports drove the markets higher on Friday. Shares of
Google (GOOG), Schlumberger (SLB), Honeywell International (HON), and
Caterpillar (CAT) all moved higher on better-than-expected earnings reports.
Light crude oil deliverable in May rose $1.53 to finish the week at $63.38. The
DJIA added 1.20% and the NASDAQ gained 0.84%.
Summary
Earnings propelled the stock market higher this week with about 25% of the S&P 500 companies having now reported. Merger and acquisition activity also pushed the markets higher with monetary policy concerns in China keeping the markets in check.
For the week: the DJIA, S&P, and Nasdaq rose 2.77%, 2.17%, and 1.38%, respectively.
