US stocks rallied on Thursday, with the Dow jumping 200 points and hitting its highest point since November, as investors welcomed better than expected quarterly results and home sales. The DJIA closed 188.03 points higher at 9069.29, the S&P500 added 22.22 points to close at 976.29 and the Nasdaq rose 47.22 points to close at 1973.60. The Nasdaq has now closed higher for 12 consecutive sessions, its longest winning streak since January 1992.
Microsoft reported weaker earnings that topped estimates and weaker revenue that missed estimates. The company said its results were due to weakness in the global PC and server markets.
American Express reported a big drop in earnings due to the cost of paying back the loan it received from the government last year. However, the earnings still managed to top analysts’ forecasts.
Ford Motor reported a second quarter profit due to its efforts to reduce debt. The company also reported an operating loss that was narrower than a year ago and smaller than forecast. Ford's drop in revenue was also narrower than expected. The stock gained 9.4 percent.
AT&T reported quarterly sales and earnings that fell from a year ago but topped estimates. The company benefited from its exclusive contract with Apple, as strong iPhone sales boosted subscriber growth. AT&T gained 2.6 percent.
3M reported weaker quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates. 3M also lifted its forecast for full year profit. The stock gained 7.4 percent.
McDonalds disappointed investors by reporting a bigger than expected drop in revenue and an in line drop in earnings. The stock fell 4.6 percent.
Bristol-Myers Squibb said late Wednesday that it will buy biotech Medarex for $2.4bn.
Amazon.com said it would buy online shoe retailer Zappos.com for $807m.
In economic news, the number of Americans filing for new claims for unemployment rose to 554,000 last week from 524,000 in the previous week. Economists thought claims would rise to 557,000. June existing home sales rose to a 4.89m unit annual rate from a revised 4.72m unit rate in May. Sales were better than expected, with economists forecasting sales would rise to a 4.85m annualized rate. The median home price continued to slide, falling 15.4 percent versus a year ago.
Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10 year note to 3.66 percent, from 3.54 percent.
In currency trading, the dollar gained against the euro and the yen.
US light crude oil for September delivery rose $1.76 to close at $67.16 a barrel on NYMEX.
COMEX gold for August delivery rose $1.50 to settle at $954.80 an ounce.
The Nikkei average rose 1.6 percent today, gaining for an eighth straight day, after upbeat corporate earnings fuelled hopes for a US economic recovery and chip equipment stocks climbed on strong order data. Panasonic Corp rose after a broker raised its rating on the stock, while Fujitsu jumped after it announced better than expected earnings goals which prompted analysts to lift their estimates. Profits from 3M & Co and AT&T provided further evidence that second quarter earnings were more upbeat than initially thought, sending the Dow above the key 9000 mark for the first time since January. The Nikkei average rose 151.61 points to close at 9944.55, its highest close since June 30. It has risen almost 10 percent in its eight day rally, its longest run since September 2005. For the week, it climbed 5.8 percent, its biggest weekly jump since late March. Analysts say it is likely to test 10,000 next week, a level it last hit on July 1, if domestic quarterly corporate earnings results, many of which will be announced next week, come in better than expected.
Panasonic rose 8.3 percent to Y1,390 after JPMorgan raised its rating to "overweight" from "neutral" and lifted its price target to Y2,000. Fujitsu gained 4.1 percent to Y565 yen. Advantest Corp led gains for chip equipment makers. It climbed 4.4 percent to Y1,877 after the Nikkei business daily said that orders for Advantest's chip-testing equipment topped more than Y10bn in April-June, double the order value received in the prior quarter. Data also showed orders for Japanese equipment used to make semiconductors outpaced sales for the third straight month in June, a sign of a recovery in chipmakers' investment.
Tokyo Electron Ltd rose 2.4 percent to Y4,620. Sony Corp rose 1.7 percent to Y2,370 and Sharp Corp gained 4.2 percent to Y960 after the Nikkei business daily said Sony will likely invest more than $1.1bn in a liquid crystal display TV panel venture to be formed with Sharp.
Asahi Co jumped 5.8 percent to Y3,300 after its president said that the company was certain to lift its annual outlook, helped by brisk demand for sports bicycles and battery assisted models.
UK stocks rose for a ninth straight day as investors cheered positive economic data from both the UK and the US, with miners and banks enjoying an afternoon rally after falls the previous session. The FTSE100 closed 66.07 points higher at 4559.80, the highest closing level since early January, making its longest winning streak since late 2003. Investors welcomed reassuring quarterly results from 3M Co and US home sales and jobs data. Mining stocks dominated the leaderboard, rebounding after Wednesday's falls, against a backdrop of mixed metals prices. Kazakhymys was the biggest riser, up 9.5 percent, with ENRC, Vedanta Resources, Xstrata and Lonmin up 5.5-8.9 percent. Energy stocks were also firmer, reversing losses from earlier in the session, as crude prices rose, buoyed by gains in the gasoline market and a rally on Wall Street. Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil and Cairn Energy added between 0.1 and 1.4 percent.
Banking stocks were also in demand, following a retreat in the previous session, with HSBC, Standard Chartered, RBS and Lloyds up 3.2-5.3 percent.
Water utilities were the greatest drag on the index, under pressure after OFWAT ordered a 4 percent cut to household water bills over the next five years, and said it would allow companies to make a return on their capital at the low end of expectations. Pennon Group, Severn Trent and United Utilities fell between 3.4 and 7.3 percent.
Compass fell 7.5 percent after the company said sales growth slowed in the third quarter and looked set to weaken further.
In economic news, June retail sales in Britain showed a jump of three times the rate expected by analysts, as hot weather and early summer discounting boosted sales of clothing.