Investor's Business Daily
IBD's Top 10 - ThursdayThursday October 25, 6:53 pm ET
Investor's Business Daily
Microsoft Soars On Blowout Q1
1 The software giant earned 45 cents a share, 29% above a year ago and 6 cents over forecasts. Revenue shot up 27% to $13.76 bil -- $1.2 bil over views. Microsoft cited "robust demand" for its Windows Vista operating system. Microsoft also guided Q2 estimates higher. Its shares jumped 11% in late trading to 7-year highs after rising 2% ahead of results.
Stocks Trim Losses, End Mixed
2 For a fourth straight day, the main indexes battled back from sharp declines. The NYSE composite rose 0.2%, the S&P 500 eased 0.1% while the Dow was flat again. The Nasdaq, hit by weakness in chip and other tech stocks, couldn't rebound as well and fell 0.9%. Volume fell on the Nasdaq, rose on the NYSE. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 4 ticks to 4.38%.
Baidu Falls After Topping Views
3 The Chinese search leader's Q3 EPS grew 132% to 72 cents ex items, topping views by 9 cents. Revenue rose 107.5% to $66.3 mil, slightly above views. Baidu's (NasdaqGS:
BIDU -
News) active online marketing customers grew 11.6% vs. Q2 and revenue per online marketing customer was up 11%. It sees Q4 revenue in line with Wall St. views. Shares fell 4% late.
Iraqi Threat Lifts Crude Past $90
4 Crude oil soared $3.36 to $90.46 a barrel -- $90.60 intraday -- after an Iraqi lawmaker threatened to halt oil exports to Turkey, which is mulling a raid vs. Kurdish rebels in N. Iraq. New U.S. sanctions vs. Iran also fueled prices. OPEC's secretary-general also dismissed rumors of any additional output, beyond the half-million barrel increase currently underway.
WellCare Dives 63% After Raids
5 Shares of the HMO had been halted since Wed. morning after a host of federal and state agents raided WellCare's Fla. HQ. The reasons are unclear, but Medicaid fraud seems to be one issue. Other HMOs seemed unaffected. Aetna rose 6% to a new closing high after beating Q3 views and raising guidance. Amerigroup shot up 9% on its strong results.
Housing, Factory, Jobs Data Soft
6 New-home sales rose 4.8% in Sept. to an annualized 770,000 -- after big downward revisions to the prior 3 months that left Aug. at an 11-year low. New loan data showed delinquencies still rising. Durable goods orders fell more than expected last month, with business investment weak. Jobless claims fell 8,000 to 331,000 last week, but the 4-week average rose.
S. Calif. Fires Still Not Contained
7 Two bodies were found in a house destroyed by a San Diego wildfire, raising fears more fatalities could be found. Firefighters have doused several blazes, but none of the 4 fires in San Diego County was more than 40% contained. Two blazes in San Bernardino also were threatening homes. President Bush toured the area.
EMC Profit Up, Raises Buyback
8 The data storage giant met Q3 EPS views for a 31% profit rise to 17 cents, but that excluded huge gains from selling a VMware (NYSE:
VMW -
News) stake to Cisco. It still owns 86% of the virtualization software firm, which posted a big profit late Wed. EMC's (NYSE:
EMC -
News) sales rose 17% to $3.3 bil. EMC doubled its buyback to $2 bil. Shares rose 8.5% to a 6-year high.
Bush Orders New Iran Sanctions
9 The president imposed sanctions vs. Iran's defense ministry, its Revolutionary Guard and its banks for supporting Iraq militants and its nuclear pursuits. Sec'y of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran's actions are "threatening peace." Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced sanctions, comparing such threats to "running around like a madman with a razor blade."
China Stocks Fall On GDP Data
10 The Shanghai composite sank 4.8% after the gov't said the economy expanded 11.5% in Q3 vs. a year earlier. It's the 3rd straight quarter of 11%+ growth, though down from 11.9% in Q2. Consumer inflation also cooled from recent highs, but remained high. Investors expect China's central bank to raise interest rates once again soon.
