Market News: Activision Blizzard, Cognizant Technology, First Solar

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The stock markets in the United States rebounded today after suffering losses over the past several days. The market gains were driven by earnings in the technology sector that exceeded Wall Street expectations. The equity markets also benefited from the service-industry data indicating a faster economic growth.

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Commenting in the market trends, John Manlet, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Fund Management told Bloomberg, “The market has been under a little bit of pressure looking for a reason to go back up. The market is moving in the right direction. A slow, steady recovery is probably a good thing. The single most important factor affecting stock markets is what the Fed is doing.”

The U.S. service industry from real estate agencies to restaurants expanded in July. The Institute for Supply Management reported that its non-manufacturing index increased 4.3% to 60.3%, the strongest growth since August 2005.

Brian Jones, a senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale said, “The economy is in good shape, “The consumer is fine because of the strong labor market. We have the luxury that so much of our activity is determined within our national borders.”

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A separate report from ADP Research Institute showed that American companies added 185,000 jobs last month. Economists polled by Bloomberg estimated 215,000 jobs.

Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said, “Job growth is strong, but it has moderated since the beginning of the year. Layoffs in the energy industry and weaker job gains in manufacturing are behind the slowdown. Nonetheless, even at this slower pace of growth, the labor market is fast approaching full employment.”

The Department of Labor is scheduled to release its jobs report on Friday.

U.S. Markets

  • Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 17,540.67 (-0.06%)
  • S&P 500- 2,099.86 (+0.31%)
  • NASDAQ- 5,139.95 (+0.67%)
  • Russell 2000- 1,231.35 (-0.20%)

European Markets

  • EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,676.75 (+1.59%)
  • FTSE 100 Index- 6,752.41 (+0.98%)
  • Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 11,636.30(+1.57%)

Asia-Pacific Markets

  • Nikkei 225- 20,614.06 (+0.46%)
  • Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 24,514.16 (+0.44%)
  • Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 3,866.90 (-2.06%)

Stocks in Focus

The stock price of Activision Blizzard climbed almost 12% to $28.71 per share. The company reported second-quarter that beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts. Activision said its non-GAAP earnings were $0.13 per share on $759 million in revenue compared. Analysts expected that company to deliver $0.08 in earnings per share on $665.4 million in revenue.

Cognizant Technology Solutions gained more than 6% to $67.34 per share. The company reported non-GAAP earnings of $0.79 per share for the second quarter, up from $0.66 per share. Its revenue increased 22.6% to $3.09 billion.

The stock value of First Solar surged more than 16% to $51.92 per share. The company’s second-quarter earnings beat expectations. The company reported earnings of $0.93 per share on $896.2 million in revenue. Wall Street analysts expected First Solar to deliver earnings of $0.50 per share in $751.7 million in revenue.

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