[基础分析] 【市场综述07/19/12】Technology earnings boost Wall Street

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Thursday for a third straight day, with the S&P 500 at a 2-1/2 month high, as earnings from technology companies and expectations for more monetary stimulus outweighed weak economic data.

So far in this earnings season a majority of companies have beaten analysts' lowered expectations. In the latest boost, IBM (IBM) raised its full-year outlook, eBay's (EBAY) profit beat forecasts and Qualcomm (QCOM) said it expects a "strong December quarter."

"Europe has been quiet and earnings news, while not earth-shattering, is slightly better than expected," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. "A trading range environment is how we see it."

Weak manufacturing and employment data as well as falling revenue at investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS), which sent its shares down more than 5 percent, capped gains in the wider market. The S&P financial index (.GSPF) fell 1 percent.

Even so, expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon step up stimulus efforts have helped the market shake off bad news. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week that the U.S. central bank would act if the outlook worsened.

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) gained 34.66 points, or 0.27 percent, to 12,943.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^GSPC) rose 3.73 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,376.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) added 23.30 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,965.90.

But despite the Nasdaq's out-performance compared with the other indexes, decliners in the index beat advancers by a ratio of more than 5 to 4. Investors like to see advancers beating decliners by a wide margin to confirm market strength.

The S&P is at its highest level since early May. Some investors are pointing to a trading range between recent highs above 1,400 and a low in June around 1,280.

"People are focusing on individual stocks after earnings and trying to figure out (through) outlooks how weak the economy really is," said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois.

"It is baked into stock prices that growth is going to be slow for a little while," he said.

Manufacturing in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region shrank for a third month and home resales were lower than forecast. That came shortly after a report showed more Americans applied for unemployment insurance in the latest week.

IBM shares jumped 3.8 percent to $195.34, making it the largest boost to the Dow industrials a day after it raised its full-year profit forecast.

Semiconductor company Qualcomm cut its revenue and earnings forecast for the current quarter, but investors took heart as it said sales would improve for a strong last quarter of 2012, sending its shares up 4.2 percent to $58.43.

EBay shares jumped 8.6 percent to $43.95 after it posted stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue and earnings as more consumers shopped on its online marketplaces and used its PayPal payment service.

Morgan Stanley fell 5.3 percent to $13.25 as quarterly revenue declined due to a slowdown in trading and dealmaking volumes. The company will cut 1,000 employees by the end of this year.

Of the 19 percent of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings so far, 65 percent have beaten expectations, slightly better than average since 1994, according to Thomson Reuters data.

U.S.-traded shares of Mellanox Technologies (MLNX.TA)(MLNX) touched their life-time high after the chipmaker's profit beat analysts' expectations. Mellanox, up about 41.5 percent at $93.90, was the biggest boost to the PHLX semiconductor index (.SOX).

Outside the tech sector, Textron (TXT) shares rallied 11.5 percent to $26.50 after the world's largest maker of corporate jets, which also makes EZ-Go golf carts and industrial components, handily beat Wall Street forecasts.

Walgreen (WAG) shares soared 11.7 percent to $34.62 and Express Scripts Holding (ESRX) added 1.9 percent to $58.76 after the companies said they struck a pharmacy network agreement that settles a long-running dispute.

Walgreen competitor CVS Caremark (CVS) fell 6.2 percent to $45.43.

Shares of Johnson Controls (JCI), the battery and auto interiors company, tumbled 7.9 percent to $26.07 after it posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its outlook for the current period.

About 6.5 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and Amex, compared with the 50-day moving average of 6.7 billion shares.

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HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares eased on Friday but were poised for their biggest weekly gain since January, as strong U.S. corporate earnings lifted the S&P 500 to a 2-1/2 month high while Spain's fiscal woes kept the euro under pressure.

Oil prices eased after hitting an eight-week high overnight as Middle East tension stoked supply concerns, while a rally in soft commodities has seen corn and soybean prices soar to record highs due to a worsening U.S. farm-belt drought.

The euro fell against the dollar and hovered near a record low versus the Australian dollar on Friday, undermined by worries about Spain's fiscal woes and recent falls in shorter-term euro zone interest rates.

The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was little changed by midday. It is up 2.4 percent so far this week.

"We've had a reasonably good week for equities and there's something of a shift in terms of what people are looking at," said Christian Keilland, head of trading at BTIG in Hong Kong.

"There's obviously some rotation into the tech sector and everyone's looking at the agriculture space to see how that may affect things."

There was evidence suggesting some investors were selling into strength with regional funds seeing net outflows of $63.3 million compared with the prior week's inflows, according to Citigroup.

Cyclical markets such as Korea and Taiwan led the outflows, Citigroup said.

Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell more than a percent with pharma and electrical equipment makers the biggest drags as worries about U.S. economic growth soured sentiment.

Shrinking factory activity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region and more evidence of sluggish job growth has kept investors in export-reliant Japan wary about the impact of soft U.S. data on corporate earnings.

Financials were also under pressure with Mitsubishi UFJ <8306.T> down 3.2 percent after shares of Morgan Stanley (MS.N), in which the Japanese bank owns a stake, tumbled as it reported a drop in revenues.

Banks remained under pressure in South Korea in the wake of a domestic rate-fixing probe that follows investigations into the suspected manipulation of the Libor international benchmark in other major economies.

A group of banks being investigated in an interest rate rigging scandal are looking to pursue a group settlement with regulators rather than face a Barclays-style backlash by going it alone, people familiar with the banks' thinking said.

SOFT COMMODITIES

Grain prices pushed to record highs overnight as scattered rains in U.S. Midwest did little to douse concerns over the worst U.S. drought in half a century or relieve worries around higher food prices.

Corn for September delivery at the Chicago Board of Trade set a record high of $8.16-3/4 a bushel, while soybeans for August delivery also set a record high of $17.49. Wheat for September rose 4 percent at $9.35 and set a four-year high. (GRA/)

Spot gold hovered near $1,580 an ounce on Friday, retaining gains from the previous session as weak U.S. economic data kept alive hopes for more monetary stimulus from the central bank, which would drive investors to bullion.

U.S. crude was down 0.7 percent while Brent futures for September delivery were off 0.4 percent.

Oil prices have soared 20 percent over the past month.

In the Middle East, a mid-week attack that claimed the lives of top officials in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle and a Bulgarian bus bombing that killed Israeli tourists -- an act Israel blamed on Iran -- reinforced fears that oil shipments could be disrupted.