Market Continues to Climb- Business Inventory Data Comes in Ahead of Expectation
The U.S. equity market is continuing to climb, with all three major indexes currently in green. The Dow Jones is currently up 0.43% to 11,240.37, the S&P 500 is currently up 0.42% to 1,204.27 and the Nasdaq is currently up 0.23% to 2,524.05.
U.S. business inventories rose slightly higher than expectations in the month of September as sales rose to their highest level since October 2008. According to figures released by the Commerce Department, inventories rose 0.9% to $1.40 trillion in the month of September. Economists forecast September inventories to rise 0.8% in the month of September.
Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that it is targeting January 2011 for the spinoff of its handset unit. The timeframe for the spinoff was given by the company’s co-CEO Greg Brown at a meeting with analysts in New York. Shares of Motorola Inc. are currently up 0.56% to $8.03, after touching an intra-day high of $8.20.
BHP Billiton Limited (ADR) (NYSE: BHP) withdrew its offer to acquire Potash Corporation (NYSE: POT) and plans to reactivate its share repurchase program. The company said that it determined that the condition of its offer relating to the receipt of a net benefit determination by Canada’s Minister of Industry under the Investment Canada Act cannot be satisfied. The company has instead announced its intention to reactivate its share repurchase program, continuing with its record of returning excess capital to shareholders. ADRs of BHP Billiton are currently up 2.02% to $88.73, after touching an intra-day high of $88.76. Meanwhile, Potash Corporation shares are currently up 0.02% to $139.94, after touching an intra-day high of $139.99.
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- ADI, TGT, POT, DE, PTEC, BHP are Stocks to Watch on Aug-18 Morning
