Stocks Rise Modestly On Employment Report

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– National

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Stocks advanced modestly Friday after a mediocre employment report raised questions about the pace of economic growth and inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8.17, or 0.08 percent, to close at 10,530.76. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 0.20, or 0.02 percent, to 1,220.14, and the Nasdaq composite index added 9.21, or 0.43 percent, to close at 2,169.43.

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– Local

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Shares of Molina Healthcare rose 24.4 percent Friday to $27.49 after the Long Beach-based managed care company reported third-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year earnings projection. The company reported net income of $6.8 million (24 cents a share), easily beating the 15 cents that analysts were expecting. The company projects full-year earnings of 75 cents to 82 cents a share, up from its earlier guidance of 73 cents to 80 cents a share.

OSI Systems Inc. rose 10.6 percent to $17.89 after the Hawthorne-based manufacturer of security systems announced in its fiscal first quarter earning report that it had record $141 million backlog of orders and expected to return to profitability in the second quarter. The company lost $4.2 million in the first quarter compared with net income of $1.3 million for the like period a year ago. Its revenues were up 16 percent to $101.9 million.

Herbalife Ltd. edged up 4.3 percent to $30.59, the second day in a row shares of the Los Angeles nutritional supplement company have risen following an announcement that its Australian subsidiary would be an official sponsor of a professional volleyball series in that country. Herbalife is also a professional volleyball sponsor in the United States and has announced a number of other sports sponsorships over the past year.

Shares of 3D Systems Corp. fell 4 percent Friday to $17.38 after the company reported third-quarter net income of $749,000, compared to $1.7 million in the like period a year ago. The company also separately announced that planned to move its headquarters from Valencia and consolidate its operations in Rock Hill, S.C. by the end of September 2006.

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. was up 3.5 percent to $54.05 Friday after investors took profits following a run up in the stock earlier in the week. The Los Angeles commercial real estate services firm reported this week that its net income rose more than fourfold following a 29 percent increase in sales.

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