Buying has continued today with stocks moving higher after a nice rally on Wednesday. Encouraging news from the ADP survey combined with pockets of strength from the retailing sector to keep the bulls in power, but barely. About 90 minutes into the trading session, the Dow is up 15 points, the Nasdaq Composite is higher by half a percent, and the S&P has barely topped the 1,100 area, up 2.3 points today.
Today’s top stories include:
* Same-store sales for May came out this morning, and the results were rather underwhelming , with nine of the 25 companies tracked by Briefing missing analysts’ expectations. Analysts were expecting overall same-store sales to rise 2.6% and the numbers fell just shy of this, at 2.5%. Notable are Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST), which saw a 9% rise in sales (but failed to meet estimates of 9.4%) and JC Penney (NYSE: JCP), which saw sales slip 1.8% versus expectations for a 0.9% drop. On the positive front was Target (NYSE: TGT), posting a same-store sales gain of 1.3% versus estimates for a 0.9% increase. The Limited (NYSE: LTD) also saw sales jump, up 5% compared to expectations of 2%. Trade your favorite retail names for less with Click Here$2.95 stock trades.
* Automatic Data Processing’s monthly survey of employment trends in the private sector showed that companies hired 55,000 additional workers in May, the fourth-straight monthly increase. This positive news may bode well for tomorrow morning’s nonfarm payrolls report.
* Confirming previous speculation, Ford Motor (NYSE: F) will indeed drop the Mercury brand , ceasing all production in the fourth quarter. The automaker plans to allocate the resources to its eponymous brand and the Lincoln line. Yesterday, Ford said vehicle sales rose an impressive 23% in May.
* BP plc (NYSE: BP) has pledged to donate $360 million toward building six land barriers to protect the coast of Louisiana from the continuing oil spill. The company’s latest effort to stem the flow was ruined with a saw became stuck in a pipe below the surface. The efforts to contain this deepwater spill have drawn on for six weeks.
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* Maytag, part of the Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) family, has issued a recall of 1.7 million dishwashers under the Maytag, Amana, and Jenn-Air lines, due to fire hazards with the appliances’ heating elements. The affected dishwashers were sold nationwide between February 2006 through April 2009.
* And finally … if there is ever a case for instant reply in Major League Baseball, last night was it. Umpire Jim Joyce admits to a blown call at first base, but it doesn’t undo the fact that pitcher Armando Galarraga was denied the honor of pitching the 19th perfect game in the modern era of baseball. Tyler Kepner of The New York Times calls this “the most egregious blown call in baseball over the last 25 years.”
And that’s a look at some of today’s biggest market stories. Keep an eye on ONN.tv every day for more analysis and trading ideas to capitalize on the latest market developments.
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