Stocks rose on Wall Street on Thursday as
MasterCard exceeded earnings estimates and several major retailers said sales
were better than expected last month, dpa
reported.
MasterCard rose 14 per cent, or 19.69 dollars, to 159.84 dollars per share in
trading after it said earlier in the day it had lost less than expected in the
last quarter.
The second-largest credit card firm said profits fell by more than 20 per cent
to 239 million dollars. Revenues rose 14 per cent to 1.2 billion dollars on
higher fees and growing credit card use worldwide.
Retailers Wal-Mart, Target, Macy's and Limited Brands rose 3 per cent or more
after they said discounts lured in more customers than expected in January
despite the ongoing recession, Bloomberg financial news reported.
"Sooner or later somebody has to buy something because people are still
living, eating, driving and heating their homes," Lawrence Creatura of
Federated Clover Investment Advisors told Bloomberg. "There may be a
recovery ahead of us as orders begin to match rates of end demand."
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average earned 106.41 points, or 1.3 per
cent, to 8,063.07. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 13.62
points, or 1.6 per cent, to 845.85. The technology- heavy Nasdaq Composite
Index gained 31.19 points, or 2.1 per cent, to 1,546.24.
The US currency rose against the euro to 78.15 euro cents from 77.81 euro cents
on Wednesday. The dollar was also up against the Japanese currency to 91.28 yen
from 89.48 yen.