The Dow reached a four-year high today as strong manufacturing news from China and the U.S. combined with continued positive earnings momentum to get May off to a rousing start.
The Dow touched the 13,339 mark, its highest since December 2007 before settling at 13,279, up 0.5%. The S&P was up 0.57% to 1,406, and the Nasdaq finished at 3,050, up 0.13%.
The Dow rally was broad-based, as more than 70% of the index stocks finished the day ahead.
U.S. manufacturing showed better-than-expected growth in April according to the ISM Manufacturing Index, which jumped from 53.4 in March to 54.8 in April. This trumped the consensus estimate, which called for a drop to 53.
The Chinese government also announced that the country’s manufacturing sector continued to improve for the fifth consecutive month, climbing from 53.1 in March to 53.3 in April.
A reading of 50 or higher is a signal of expansion in both the U.S. and China.
Results were mixed on the earnings front, as BP (NYSE:BP) joined with fellow oil stocks Exxon (NYSE:XOM) and Conoco (NYSE:COP) in a disappointing first quarter. BP finished down 1.6% at $42.70, while XOM and Conoco bucked the trend, with XOM up just under 1% and Conoco climbing 3.5%.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) also reported disappointing results as first-quarter revenues fell 7% to $15.4 billion from $16.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. Net income dropped 19% to $1.79 billion, or 24 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $2.22 billion, or 28 cents per share last year.
Cosmetics maker Avon (NYSE:AVP) also struggled, as earnings disappointed analysts and investors alike, causing the stock to plunge 8% to $19.89 on the news.
P.F. Chang’s (NASDAQ:PFCB) climbed 30% as private equity firm Centerbridge Partners entered a deal to take the restaurant chain private.
Tomorrow’s earnings release notables include Clorox (NYSE:CLX), Marathon (NYSE:MRO), Visa (NYSE:V), Sunoco (NYSE:SUN), and Allstate (NYSE:ALL).
Three Up
- Sears Holdings (NYSE:SHC): Up 15.34% ($8.25) to $62.03 (Read more about Sears here)
- Huntsman (NYSE:HUN): Up 9.25% ($1.31) to $15.47
- Archer-Daniels (NYSE:ADM): Up 7.65% ($2.36) to $33.19
Three Down
- Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ): Down 9.55% ($3.61) to $34.20
- Nii (NASDAQ:NIHD): Down 7% (98 cents) to $13
- Office Depot (NYSE:ODP): Down 5.92% (18 cents) to $2.86
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor of InvestorPlace. He is long XOM as of this writing.
