U.S. stocks climbed to a two-week high in early afternoon trading Monday as upbeat earnings and deal activity boosted investor confidence.
Investors are preparing a flurry of earnings reports over the next week with more than one-third of Standard & Poor's 500 companies expected to post earnings this week. An uptick in investors looking to trade CFDs on Opteck and other platforms is expected as more earnings are reported. (Note: Contracts for Difference are not available for residents of the U.S.)
Boeing (BA, Financial) and Apple (AAPL, Financial) are both scheduled to post earnings this week. So far, most companies that have already reported have outperformed the long-term average in revenue and profit.
According to data from Thomson Reuters, third-quarter earnings are projected to rise 1.1% after four straight quarters of contraction.
A total of 120 S&P 500 companies have already reported their earnings, and 77.5% have beaten Wall Street’s expectations.
In early afternoon, the S&P 500 was up 0.33% (6.97 points) to 2,148.13 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% (or 54.48 points) to 18,200. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.79% (or 41.65 points) to 5,299.05.
The S&P 500 saw 18 new 52-week highs and three lows. Nine of the 11 major sectors on the S&P were higher, with the technology index leading the gainers.
Shares for B/E Aerospace (BEAV, Financial) saw major gains in the afternoon, soaring 15.4% to trade at $58.40. The surge in the company’s stock price came after Rockwell Collins (COL, Financial) said it had agreed to buy the aircraft component maker in a $6.4 billion deal (including $1.9 billion in debt). Rockwell fell 6.9% on the news to trade at $78.61.
T-Mobile (TMUS, Financial) climbed as much as 7.8% to $50.41 after posting an earnings report that beat analysts’ expectations. The wireless carrier also boosted its forecast for new customers this year.
Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) was up 1.4% to $60.50, adding the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and S&P.
TD Ameritrade (AMTD, Financial) eased 2.9% to $35.99 after announcing it was purchasing Scottrade Financial Services in a $4 billion deal.
AT&T (T, Financial) also lost today, falling 1.6% to $36.88 after announcing its own acquisition: Time Warner Inc. (TWX, Financial). The deal is valued at $85.4 billion. If approved, the deal would be the biggest in the world this year. News of the acquisition also sent Time Warner’s stock down 2.2% to $87.56.
On the Nasdaq, the number of advancing issues outpaced the declining ones 1,605 to 1,084. The New York Stock Exchange had 1,631 advancers and 1,236 decliners.
Disclosure: I have no interests in any of the stocks discussed in this article.
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