US stocks start higher as latest earnings impress
Source: AP-EXCITE
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks were moving higher in early trading Thursday as traders welcomed some more positive corporate earnings news. European and Asian markets were mixed. The price of oil continued to fall and remains at a four-year low.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,043 as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 47 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,661. The Nasdaq composite rose 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,687.
EARNINGS: Wal-Mart Stores rose $2.98, or 3 percent, the most in the S&P 500, after reporting income and revenue that came in ahead of what analysts were expecting. Media conglomerate Viacom, which owns the Paramount studio, MTV and VH1, rose $1.36, or 2 percent, to $70.62 after its own results topped forecasts.
US JOBS, JAPANESE INDUSTRY: Traders were digesting a report that showed U.S. unemployment benefits rose last week by 12,000. The increase, however, is not considered sharp enough to derail the labor market's overall improvements. More positive figures came from Japan, which said its machinery orders rose in October in a sign of growing investment. Excluding shipbuilding and electricity, orders rose 2.9 percent over the previous month, defying predictions of a decline.
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A man looks at an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014. Asian stocks were subdued Thursday after Wall Street retreated following five days of record gains but Tokyo gained after a surprise rise in Japan's machinery orders. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
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