The Nasdaq and S & P; 500 hit four-year highs Thursday after oil prices nearing $60 per barrel didn’t faze investors as they focused on a crop of strong earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 68.46, or 0.6 percent, to 10,705.55, its highest level since March 15. The S & P; 500 Index climbed 6.93, or 0.6 percent, to 1,243.72, its best close since June 12, 2001. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.22, or 0.6 percent, to 2,198.44, its best showing since June 8, 2001.
Wall Street looked past rising oil prices, which settled at $59.94, up 83 cents, as company earnings helped fuel investors’ confidence in the stability of the economy. Among the companies, DaimlerChrysler surged 9.8 percent to $48.26 after the company posted improved earnings. The stock was also helped along by CEO Juergen Schrempp’s statement that he would step down by the end of the year. Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 0.3 percent to $25.17 after reporting a 91 percent surge in second-quarter income, beating analysts’ estimates. And Exxon Mobil Corp.’s profits surged 32 percent in the second quarter as it reaped the benefits of soaring oil and natural gas prices.
Among local companies, shares of Teledyne Technologies Inc. rose 9.5 percent to $38.34 after the Los Angeles-based electronics components firm reported net income of $16.1 million (47 cents per diluted share) for the second quarter ended July 3, beating analysts’ estimates of 38 cents a share.
IHOP Corp. gained 9.7 percent to $43.70 after the Glendale-based operator and franchiser of International House of Pancakes restaurants beat the average analysts’ estimate for its second quarter. The company also reaffirmed its full-year earnings forecast.
On the down side, shares of MRV Communications, Inc. fell 6 percent to $2.18 after the Chatsworth-based network equipment and services manufacturer reported, late Wednesday, a net loss of $4.1 million (4 cents per diluted share) for the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $3.1 million (3 cents) for the like period a year earlier.
And Superior Industries International Inc. lost 3.4 percent to $23.29 after the Van Nuys-based motor vehicle parts manufacturer’s stock rating was downgraded to “underperform” from “neutral” by analyst David Leiker at Robert W. Baird & Co. On Wed., the company reported that its second-quarter profit fell sharply as sales slipped and costs increased.
