US stocks rise as eBay, Citi, others report strong earnings
Jul 16, 2015, 7:36 AM
This July 6, 2015 photo shows a Wall Street address on a building in New York's financial district. European stocks jumped, leading gains in global benchmarks Thursday, July 16, 2015, after Greek lawmakers approved an austerity bill needed for another bailout. The dollar rose after the Fed chief indicated that U.S. interest rates could start rising later this year. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising broadly in early trading Thursday after several big companies reported better-than-expected earnings. Citigroup, Intel, Netflix and eBay all beat analysts’ forecasts. The rise in the U.S. stocks follows a rally in European markets on news that Greece’s parliament approved pension reforms and other measures demanded by its creditors. Greek banks will get a fresh injection of cash so they can reopen.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average was up 29 points, or 0.2 percent, at 18,079 as of 10:29 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 11 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,118. The Nasdaq composite climbed 39 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,138.
GREEK RELIEF: Greece’s eurozone creditors agreed “in principle” to start discussions about a new bailout package after that country’s lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a strict austerity bill that the creditors had demanded. Separately, the European Central Bank decided to raise the amount of emergency liquidity available to Greek banks.
NETFLIX SOARS: Netflix jumped 10 percent, the biggest gainer in the S&P 500, after announcing late Wednesday that it had attracted 3.3 million more subscribers to its service in the second quarter, far more projected. Netflix said earnings fell 63 percent for the period, but still beat expectations. Its stock rose $10.11 to $108.24.
EBAY RISES: EBay rose $2.80, or nearly 3 percent, to $66.24 after announcing second quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations. The company also said it had sold a business that helps develop online sites for retailers as it prepares to spin off PayPal.
OTHER EARNINGS: Investor sentiment was also helped by upbeat earnings from Citigroup and Philip Morris. Though investment bank Goldman Sachs saw its profit slump due to a rise in legal costs, its revenue figure was better than analysts had expected.
CURRENCIES: The euro fell to its lowest level since the beginning of June, slipping to $1.0882 from $1.0954 in late trading Wednesday. The dollar was roughly flat at 124 yen.
ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.7 percent and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China gained after two days of big drops, climbing 0.5 percent.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 29 cents to $51.32 a barrel in New York.
BOND: U.S government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.37 percent from 2.35 percent.
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