[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks finished the session off their best levels, but still modestly higher with the Dow closing up close to 55 points. Markets opened higher following a stronger-than-expected earnings report from Halliburton (HAL 29.17, +1.66) that sparked buying in the energy space.
Earnings reports from Hasbro (HAS 39.35, -0.15) and Delta Airlines (DAL 11.36, -0.36) beat analysts' earnings per share estimates, but missed on revenues.
After a brief pop on the open, stocks pulled back to the flat line following the National Homebuilders Association Index that came in at a 14 reading, below the expected 16 mark. Shares in Pulte (PHM 7.93, -0.12), DR Horton (DHI 9.97, -0.13), and Lennar (LEN 13.80, -0.21) traded lower on the news.
Bank of America (BAC 13.58, -0.40) shares traded to the downside after Goldman Sachs (GS 145.71, -0.46) announced they had removed the stock from their conviction list, but kept its buy rating.
There are 17 companies scheduled to report results tonight, with key reports from International Business Machines (IBM 129.88, +1.85), Texas Instruments (TXN 25.55, +0.78) and Steel Dynamics (STLD 13.99, -0.22) due out after the bell.
The volatility index (-2.4%) closed lower for the first time in five sessions to finish at 25.63.
Trading volume was underwhelming as only 952 million shares traded at the New York Stock Exchange.
Advancing Sectors: Consumer Discretionary (+0.9%), Energy (0.4%), Healthcare (+0.5%), Materials (+0.2%), Industrials (+0.6%), Telecommunications (+0.6%), Utilities (+1.5%), Information Technology (+1.0%), Financials (unch), Consumer Staples (unch)
Declining Sectors: None
From Briefing.com: 4:34PM Texas Instruments reports EPS, revs in-line with consensus/guidance; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs in-line; raises FY10 cap-ex (TXN) 25.55 +0.78 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.62 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.62 and guidance of $0.60-0.64; revenues rose 42.3% year/year to $3.5 bln vs the $3.52 bln consensus and guidance of $3.45-3.59 bln. Co issues guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.64-0.74 vs. $0.64 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $3.55-3.85 bln vs. $3.59 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Q2 Gross Margin of 54.17% vs 53.5% consensus; capital expenditures: $1.2 billion, up from the prior expectation of $0.9 billion "Our Analog and Embedded Processing businesses turned in double-digit sequential growth, outpacing their respective markets and again confirming their ability to positively impact the financial performance of TI... Orders were strong in the quarter, backlog increased and we expect to grow revenue again in the third quarter."
4:13PM IBM beats by $0.03, misses on revs; raises FY10 guidance (IBM) 129.79 +1.76 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $2.61 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $2.58; revenues rose 2.0% year/year to $23.72 bln vs the $24.17 bln consensus. Reports Q2 gross profit margin of 45.6% vs Thomson Reuters consensus of 45.8%. IBM sees FY10 EPS of "at least $11.25," up from prior guidance of "at least $11.20", and vs. the $11.27 consensus. IBM signed services contracts totaling $12.3 bln, decrease of 12%. "In the second quarter we again delivered double-digit earnings-per-share growth, increased margins, as well as improving constant-currency revenue performance in our ongoing software, services and hardware businesses, and in all geographies."
4:02PM Atheros Communications to acquire Opulan Technologies Corp (ATHR) 30.46 +1.19 : Atheros will pay Opulan shareholders ~$72 mln in cash, and may pay additional cash to Opulan shareholders subject to the attainment of earn-out objectives applicable to the acquired business during a 12-month period following the closing date. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2010. The acquisition has been approved by the board of directors of each company, and a majority of Opulan's shareholders have agreed to approve the transaction
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