The stock markets in the United States ended the trading session higher as investors speculated that the economy can withstand a global slowdown while evaluating the financial results of corporations.
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In a telephone interview with Bloomberg, Mark Kepner, an equity strategist at Themis Trading LLC commented that corporate earnings results for the third quarter showed that the economy is stable and consumers are feeling confident amid low interest rates and oil price continued to be below $80.
Kepner added, “Central banks have also been quite accommodative in what they’ve been saying and it seems to be working.”
On the other hand, Oppenheimer market strategist, John Stoltzfus commented that stock market’s rally last wekk “celebrated the fundamentals” given the fact that corporate earnings and economic data showed a sign of growth “sustainability.”
[drizzle]Last week, the Department of Labor reported that the unemployment rate declined to 5.8%.
Stoltz estimated that the $&P 500 will reach as high as 2,080 points, up from his previous estimate of 2,014 points. Market strategists polled by Bloomberg have a median estimate of 2,040 points for the S&P 500.
Herbert Perus, head of equities at Raiffeisen Capital Management in Vienna said, “There is no downward pressure. One of the trigger could be the company news out this week with quarterly figures from Cisco and Wal-mart.”
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 17,613.74 (+0.23%)
- S&P 500- 2,038.26 (+0.31%)
- NASDAQ- 4,651.62 (+0.41%)
- Russell 2000- 1,179.57 (+0.53%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,094.60 (+0.97%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,611.25 (+0.67%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 9,351.87 (+0.65%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 16,780.53 (-0.59%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 23,744.70 (+0.83%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 2,565.73 (+2.54%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) slightly declined to $108.83 per share. The iPhone maker was impacted a new security flaw found in its iOS 7 and iOS8, which enables hackers to easily steal the personal data of users. The security flaw was called ‘Masque Attack.”
FireEye Inc (NASDAQ:FEYE) gained more than 5% to $32.39 per share after discovering the “Masque Attack” on the iOS7 and iOS 8 of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The security company said hackers were able to install software on the iPhones to steal user’s information.
The shares of Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OREX) surged more than 33% to $5.13 per share after reporting strong results for the third quarter. The company posted a 147% in earnings to $0.09 per share. Its revenue rose 3,501% to $30.9 million during the period.
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