U.S. stock market indexes were in positive territory on Thursday, continuing the rally that followed the Federal Reserves' decision to maintain the interest rate of 2.25% to 2.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.05% to 25,00, the S&P 500 index jumped 0.90% to 2,705 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.53% to 7,292.
Shares of Celgene Corp. (CELG, Financial) inched up on Thursday morning after the company announced fourth-quarter results. Revenue grew 16.1% year over year to $4.04 billion, beating analysts' expectations by $50 million. Earnings were $2.39 per share, beating estimates by 7 cents.
“2018 was another year of excellent operating results and significant progress advancing our innovative early-, mid- and late-stage pipeline,” Chairman and CEO Mark J. Alles said.
In the fourth quarter, Revlimid sales rose 16% to $2.5 billion, sales of Pomalyst/Imnovid grew 28% to $567 million, Otezla sales increased 21% to $448 million and Abraxane sales were $269 million, an increase of 7%.
Looking ahead to 2019, the company expects strong operating momentum, leading to double-digit top and bottom-line growth.
Gainers
- General Electric Co. (GE, Financial)
- AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC, Financial)
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD, Financial)
- Coty Inc. (COTY, Financial)
Losers
- H & R Block Inc. (HRB, Financial)”‹
- Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO, Financial)
- Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM, Financial)
- Comerica Inc. (CMA, Financial)
- eBay Inc. (EBAY, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets were mixed. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.39%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.36%, Germany's Dax declined 0.08% and Spain's IBEX 35 slid 0.16%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.06%, India’s BSE Sensex advanced 1.87%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.08% and China's Shanghai Composite inched up 0.35%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
