Stock Market News for April 21, 2015 – Zacks Investment Research
Benchmarks ended higher on Monday following China’s stimulus measures and upbeat earnings results. China’s central bank’s announcement that it would trim its reserve requirement ratio to boost lending and combat slow economic growth was welcomed by investors. Meanwhile, positive first quarter earnings results from Morgan Stanley, Halliburton and Hasbro also added to the bullish sentiment.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 1.2% or 208.63 points to close at 18,034.93. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) increased 0.9% to 2,100.40. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 4,994.60; gaining 1.3%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) dropped 4.3% to settle at 13.30. A total of about 5.6 billion shares were traded on Monday, less than the month to date average of 6.3 billion. Advancers outpaced declining stocks on the NYSE. For 68% stocks that advanced, 29% declined.
Benchmarks started the week on a positive note following China’s stimulus measures to boost its slowing economy. The People’s Bank of China said that it will trim its reserve requirement by one percentage point which will free up about $200 billion for commercial banks to lend. This is the second time in less than three months that the central bank has decided to reduce its reserve requirements
The central bank’s measure follows new equity market regulations in China. Last Friday, Chinese regulators allowed fund managers to lend shares for short selling in order to increase the supply of shares. Further, they levied sanctions to control over-the-counter margin trading.
Meanwhile, investors kept an eye on first quarter earnings results. Morgan Stanley’s (MS – Analyst Report) shares gained 0.6% after the financial holding company posted first quarter earnings per share of 85 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 79 cents. Improved trading activities helped Morgan Stanley post better than expected earnings results. Revenues of $9.8 billion were also more than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.3 billion.
Major oilfield services provider, Halliburton Company’s (HAL – Analyst Report) first quarter earnings per share came in at 49 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents. Halliburton reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings results, following higher profitability from all product lines in Saudi Arabia. Revenues of $7.1 billion were also able to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.4%.
Shares of Hasbro Inc. (HAS – Analyst Report) jumped 12.6% after the toymaker reported earnings per share of 21 cents exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 9 cents. Earnings were driven by higher revenues, improved margins and lower share count. Revenues of $713.5 million were also more than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $668 million.
Including these reports, 66 S&P 500 members posted first quarter earnings up 14% on 3.8% revenue gains, with 77.3% beating earnings per share estimates. Among the 66, 32.7% were able to come ahead of top-line expectations.
Yesterday’s gains were broad based, with all 10 S&P 500 sectors ending in the green. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) advanced 1.7%, the highest gainer among the S&P 500 sectors. Key holdings from the sector including Apple Inc. (AAPL – Analyst Report), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT – Analyst Report), AT&T Inc. (T – Analyst Report), Google Inc (GOOGL – Analyst Report) and International Business Machines Corporation (IBM – Analyst Report) increased 2.3%, 3.1%, 0.9%, 2.2% and 3.4%, respectively.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) gained 1.5% and was the second biggest gainer among the S&P 500 sectors. Key utilities stocks including NextEra Energy Inc (NEE – Analyst Report), Exelon Corporation (EXC – Analyst Report), Southern Company (SO – Analyst Report), PG&E Corporation (PCG – Analyst Report) and Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) increased 1.3%, 2%, 1.5%, 0.4% and 1.7%, respectively.
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Stock Market News for April 21, 2015 – Zacks Investment Research
