Strong earnings and better-than-expected economic news gave Wall Street a boost on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 40.34, or 0.36%, to 11,129.97, while the Nasdaq composite index added 4.33, or 0.19%, at 2,314.68. Crude oil futures traded down $0.36 to $68.62 a barrel. In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 4.1% in February to $65.7 billion. Economists expected a deficit of $67.3 billion.
Circuit City Stores (NYSE: CC) Wednesday posted a fourth-quarter profit of $141.1 million, or $0.80 a share, up from $85.4 million, or $0.45 a share, during the same period last year. Analysts expected earnings of $0.77 a share. Circuit City shares surged 6.6% to $26.24.
Shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HDI) slipped nearly 6% to $49.86 after the motorcycle maker reported first-quarter earnings of $234.6 million, or $0.86 a share, up from a year-ago profit of $227.2 million, or $0.77 a share, which was in line with the analyst forecast.
Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL) shares fell 7% to $45.66 after the eye care products company said the source of an increase in fungal infections linked to one of its lens solutions Monday remains a mystery and retailers continued to pull the products from their shelves.
After Tuesday's close, Genentech (NYSE: DNA) posted a first-quarter profit of $421 million, or $0.39 a share, compared to $284 million, or $0.27 a share, for the same period last year. Excluding items, Genentech would have earned $0.46 a share. Revenue rose to $1.986 billion from $1.462 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $0.41 a share on revenue of $1.964 billion. Genentech stock was off 1.6% at $80.41.
Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of Hershey Foods (NYSE: HSY) to "outperform' from "in line,' saying the company continues to gain market share. The bank also downgraded Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) to "in line' from "outperform," saying there are few catalysts ahead to drive the share price higher. Hershey shares added 3% at $51.60, while shares of Kellogg lost 1.4% to $43.18.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to "outperform" from "peer perform" at Bear Stearns, which said the company's handset market share gains should extend through 2006, boosted by demand for its thin handset products. Motorola stock gained 1.5% to $23.92.
UBS cut shares of home-furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) to "reduce" from "neutral," saying it see "few if any" signs to suggest the potential for substantial improvement at the company in the near term. Pier 1 shares edged $0.08 to $12.04.
UBS upgraded restaurant chain Applebee's International (NASDAQ: APPB) to "buy" from "neutral," saying new menus out in May could help drive improved results. Applebee's stock rose 1.6% to $23.41.
Small-cap movers on Wednesday included shares of Datalink (NASDAQ: DTLK), which shot up 34% after the company said it returned to a profit in the first quarter as revenue increased 62%. As well, American Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: ATCO) shares jumped 15% after the firm announced it has received an initial 1,350 unit HSS order from Grupo Televisa (NYSE: TV), the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world. On the downside, shares of Pixelplus Co. (NASDAQ: PXPL) plunged 42% after the company said it expects lower first-quarter revenue than previously expected.
In commodities trading, natural gas was off $0.10 at $6.808 per million British thermal units. Unleaded gasoline climbed $0.0367 to $2.0911 a gallon, while May heating oil added $0.0191 at $1.9746. The price of gold gained $1.90 at $601.30 an ounce. May silver surged $0.063 to $12.663. July platinum finished $6.40 higher at $1,101 an ounce, while June palladium rose $3.95 to $349.95. May copper, meanwhile, closed up $0.05 at $2.7715 a pound.
Resources Bounce Back in Toronto Canadian stocks were mixed Wednesday as financials fell and traders bought resource shares hit by recent selling. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite was down 10 points, or 0.08%, at 12,167.70, while the TSX Venture Exchange moved 13 points higher to 3,004.70. Energy shares edged up 0.1% even though crude oil futures traded down $0.36 to US$68.62 a barrel. Gold stocks, meanwhile, surged 1.4% as the price of gold gained $1.90 at US$601.30 an ounce. Financial issues weighed on the TSX, off nearly 1%.
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (TSX: T.RIM) said on Wednesday it expects to launch its wireless email service with China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd. by mid-year. RIM shares edged $0.71 lower to $86.75.
Shares of Nexen (TSX: T.NXY) added 1% at $67.69 after the Calgary company said it lost an arbitration case in a dispute over Yemen offshore energy properties. The firm said monetary damages, which are yet to be determined, shouldn't have a big impact on its finances.
Chariot Resources (TSX: T.CHD) shares jumped 32% to $0.58 after the miner reported high-grade copper findings at the Mina Justa deposit on its Marcona project in Peru.
Construction firm Aecon Group (TSX: T.ARE) announced it has won a $37.5-million contract to widen Highway 407, an electronic toll route north of Toronto. Aecon stock slipped 0.8% to $6.15.
Shares of drug developer Labopharm (TSX: T.DDS) surged 6.7% to $8.98 after the company said it has received good news from a Phase 3 clinical trial of its once-daily formulation of the tramadol painkiller. Labopharm says the drug "achieved statistical significance for the primary endpoint" in testing.
At the close of Tuesday's trading session, Adastra Minerals (TSX: T.AAA) announced that it has entered into a definitive support agreement with First Quantum Minerals (TSX: T.FM) in respect of an improved offer equal to $3.40 a share in First Quantum stock or $2.92 a share in cash. Adastra shares climbed 10.5% to $3.36, while shares of First Quantum gained 7.3% at $50.73.
In economic news, Statistics Canada on Wednesday said the country's merchandise trade surplus was $6.3 billion in February, up from $6.2 billion in January, even as exports fell 3.5%. Economists expected a surplus of $6.2 billion. The Canadian dollar was off 0.32 of a cent at US$0.8709.
DOW Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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