Stock Market Watch

Stocks Rally on Strong Retail Sales Data, Google Earnings

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Stocks rallied in trading today, with all three major indexes ending sharply higher. Stocks were pushed higher by better than expected retail sales data for the month of September. The strong retail sales data overshadowed a weaker than expected reading on University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index.

The Dow Jones ended the day 1.45% higher at 11,644.49, the S&P 500 ended the day 1.74% higher at 1,224.58, and the Nasdaq ended the day 1.82% higher at 2,667.85.


The September retail sales data lifted investors’ confidence today. The figures released by the Commerce Department showed an increase of 1.1% in retail sales in the month of September, following a dismal 0.3% increase in August. The September retail sales data came in well ahead of economists’ estimate.

Apart from the economic data, investors were also focused on the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Paris. Investors are hoping that the three-day meeting will lead to some concrete plans on containing the euro zone debt crisis.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) shares also remained in focus in trading today after the search engine giant delivered better than expected third-quarter financial results. Google’s earnings for the quarter came in at $9.72 per share, well ahead of Street estimates. Google shares ended the day 5.85% higher at $591.68. The stock touched an intra-day high of $599.60.

Other major gainers in trading today were W&T Offshore Inc. (NYSE: WTI), which ended the day 9.49% higher at $17.77, and Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD), which ended the day 8.99% higher at $23.41.

European markets also rallied in trading, with all major indexes ending higher. The FTSE 100 Index in London ended the day 1.17% higher at 5,466.36, and the CAC 40 Index in Paris ended the day 0.97% higher at 3,217.89. Asian markets ended mostly lower overnight.

 

edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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