Major indexes bounce after previous session's selloff. News from Disney, Autodesk, Merck weighs.
Some positive corporate news gave the U.S. stock market a lift early Friday, the last day of what has been a challenging week for Wall Street.
After five minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average (up 6.74 to 9626.16, Charts), the Standard & Poor's 500 (up 2.81 to 1036.46, Charts) index and the Nasdaq composite (up 9.35 to 1891.27, Charts) all edged moderately higher, with the Nasdaq the biggest gainer.
The major indexes are heading toward a lower weekly close for the second time in a row. Stocks declined Monday and Tuesday on fears about global terrorism and the falling dollar, managed to bounce back Wednesday, then gave up the gains Thursday, setting the market up for a lower close on the week, barring a major rally Friday.
Traditionally, the last full week before the week of Thanksgiving is an up week for the markets, with the S&P 500 gaining during that week for the last 11 years, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. But with the huge run stocks have had this year, some analysts speculate that the rally may be nearly tapped out.
The Dow and the S&P 500 hit 17-month highs in early November, while the Nasdaq hit an almost 21-month high.
Earnings released after-the-bell Thursday were the main focus of morning trade.
Late Thursday, Dow component Walt Disney (DIS: down $0.23 to $22.45, Research, Estimates) reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 17 cents per share, excluding one-time gains, 2 cents better than the 15 cents per share analysts surveyed by First Call were expecting and up from a year earlier. The stock was little changed.
Software maker Autodesk (ADSK: up $3.38 to $22.78, Research, Estimates) rallied after the company reported a higher-than-expected profit late Thursday that grew from a year earlier. Additionally, Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral."
On the downside, Merck (MRK: down $2.26 to $42.90, Research, Estimates) declined after the Dow component said it has scrapped its experimental diabetes treatment because it was shown to cause cancer in mice.
European markets were little changed at midday, while Asian stocks ended mostly lower.
Treasury prices edged up, sending the 10-year note yield down to 4.14 percent from 4.15 percent late Thursday. The dollar slipped against the yen, but was slightly stronger versus the euro.
Brent crude oil futures gained a penny to $29.57 a barrel in London. COMEX gold gained $2.90 to $396.60.
Some positive corporate news gave the U.S. stock market a lift early Friday, the last day of what has been a challenging week for Wall Street.
After five minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average (up 6.74 to 9626.16, Charts), the Standard & Poor's 500 (up 2.81 to 1036.46, Charts) index and the Nasdaq composite (up 9.35 to 1891.27, Charts) all edged moderately higher, with the Nasdaq the biggest gainer.
The major indexes are heading toward a lower weekly close for the second time in a row. Stocks declined Monday and Tuesday on fears about global terrorism and the falling dollar, managed to bounce back Wednesday, then gave up the gains Thursday, setting the market up for a lower close on the week, barring a major rally Friday.
Traditionally, the last full week before the week of Thanksgiving is an up week for the markets, with the S&P 500 gaining during that week for the last 11 years, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. But with the huge run stocks have had this year, some analysts speculate that the rally may be nearly tapped out.
The Dow and the S&P 500 hit 17-month highs in early November, while the Nasdaq hit an almost 21-month high.
Earnings released after-the-bell Thursday were the main focus of morning trade.
Late Thursday, Dow component Walt Disney (DIS: down $0.23 to $22.45, Research, Estimates) reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 17 cents per share, excluding one-time gains, 2 cents better than the 15 cents per share analysts surveyed by First Call were expecting and up from a year earlier. The stock was little changed.
Software maker Autodesk (ADSK: up $3.38 to $22.78, Research, Estimates) rallied after the company reported a higher-than-expected profit late Thursday that grew from a year earlier. Additionally, Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral."
On the downside, Merck (MRK: down $2.26 to $42.90, Research, Estimates) declined after the Dow component said it has scrapped its experimental diabetes treatment because it was shown to cause cancer in mice.
European markets were little changed at midday, while Asian stocks ended mostly lower.
Treasury prices edged up, sending the 10-year note yield down to 4.14 percent from 4.15 percent late Thursday. The dollar slipped against the yen, but was slightly stronger versus the euro.
Brent crude oil futures gained a penny to $29.57 a barrel in London. COMEX gold gained $2.90 to $396.60.
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