U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping more than 100 points to 24,600, the S&P 500 index gaining 0.78% to 2,662, and the Nasdaq Composite Index advancing 1.15% to 6,988.
Shares of Foot Locker Inc. (FL, Financial) jumped more than 15% on Wednesday morning after the company posted third-quarter earnings per share of 95 cents, on revenue of $1.86 billion, reflecting a 0.5% year-over-year decline. The company beat earnings estimates by 3 cents and beat revenue expectations by $10 million.
In the trimester, the company repurchased 2.2 million shares for $108 million and paid a quarterly dividend of 34.5 cents per share.
In the first nine months, net income was $383 million, or $3.28 per share on a GAAP basis, higher than the $333 million, or $2.55 per share, for the same period in 2017.
Looking ahead, Richard Johnson, the company's chairman and CEO, said, "We believe we are well positioned to produce even stronger results in the all-important holiday selling season and the fourth quarter overall."
Gainers
• Analog Devices Inc. (ADI, Financial)
• Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT, Financial)
• Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN, Financial)
• Western Digital Corp. (WDC, Financial)
• Amgen Inc. (AMGN, Financial)
Losers
• Ross Stores Inc. (ROST, Financial)
• News Corp. (NWS, Financial)
• DISH Network Corp. (DISH, Financial)
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST, Financial)
Markets
The main European stock markets traded higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.95%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.57%, Germany's Dax jumped 1.01% and Spain's Ibex 35 was up 0.63%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.35%, India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.77%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.51% and China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.21%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
