Stocks gain after GDP report
@CNNMoneyInvest July 27, 2012: 10:19 AM ET
Click for more market data.The Dow Jones industrial average was up 86 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 added 11 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq gained 20 points, or 0.7%.
The U.S. economy grew at a 1.5% annual rate in the second quarter of 2012, according to the government. That's down from a 2% rate in the first three months of the year, but it's slightly better than the predicted 1.4% annual pace.
While the U.S. economy has not completely fallen off a cliff, there is not much reason to expect a turnaround at this point, said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, NY.
Yet analysts say the anemic pace of growth means the Federal Reserve is more likely to step up its efforts to stimulate activity. "Such sluggishness should be sufficient to trigger more Fed easing," said O'Sullivan.
Growing hopes of more help for Europe's troubled nations also lifted stocks. The European Central Bank and European governments are reportedly talking about taking coordinated steps to start buying Spanish and Italian debt, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.
Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper reported that the ECB was willing to buy the bonds if eurozone governments also agreed to tap the European bailout funds, the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism.
This week, borrowing costs in Spain and Italy have risen to unsustainable levels as investors worry that Spain will need a full-blown bailout. That could leave Italy without a safety net.
Spain's 10-year yield soared to a high of 7.75% earlier this week, but has come down below 7% after ECB president Mario Draghi's comments that the central bank will do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. Italy's 10-year yield, which was above 6.5% earlier this week, has pulled back below 6%.
Thursday's stock market rally was fueled by Draghi's comments but analysts he didn't definitively outline new measures so the rally could be short-lived.
World markets: After spending most of the morning in the red, European were turned higher following the Le Monde report. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4%, the DAX in Germany gained 0.8%, while France's CAC 40 gained 1%.
Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite ticked up 0.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 2% and Japan's Nikkei added 1.5%.
Economy: At 10 a.m. ET, the University of Michigan will release its Consumer Sentiment Index for July, which is expected to come in unchanged from last month at 72, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
Companies: Facebook (FB) shares fell to an all-time low, after the social network company's first quarterly earnings release as a public company. Facebook beat analysts' revenue expectations slightly and earnings matched forecasts, but that was apparently not enough for Wall Street.
Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) shares also tumbled after quarterly earnings that missed analyst expectations.
Expedia (EXPE) shares surged after the online travel booking company reported strong quarterly results.
Despite reporting mixed quarterly results and a disappointing outlook, Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) shares moved higher as investors focused on the online retailer's long-term growth prospects.
Shares of Barclays (BCS) gained after the bank apologized for the Libor scandal while reporting a $6.3 billion profit for the second quarter.
Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) shares rose after the health care firm beat earnings and sales expectations and affirmed its outlook for the year.
Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) reported a profit that slipped from a year ago due to weaker oil prices, but company's earnings per share still topped expectations. Revenue, however, fell short of estimates.
Del Frisco's (DFRG), a high-end steakhouse chain, raised $75 million in its initial public offering late Thursday, as shares priced at $13, below the range of $14 to $16. Del Frisco's will list on the Nasdaq and begin trading under the ticker "DFRG" Friday.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Oil for September delivery rose 30 cents to $89.69 a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $10.20 to $1,625.30 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.47% from 1.43% late Thursday.
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