Thursday, May 10, 2012

--Stocks rise; investors eye possible end to political deadlock in Greece

--DJIA on pace to snap six-session streak of declines

--Cisco Systems shares fall on downbeat outlook as tech stocks sink 


 
   By Chris Dieterich 
   OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The Dow industrials were poised to break a six-session losing streak as a potential breakthrough by Greek political leaders eased concerns about the country's exit from the euro zone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 37 points, or 0.3%, to 12872, in late-Thursday trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced five points, or 0.4%, to 1359, and the Nasdaq Composite rose three points, or 0.1%, to 2937.

Utility and telecommunications stocks, typically viewed as lower-risk sectors, led the market higher. Technology stocks were the only one of the S&P 500's 10 groups to lose ground, as Cisco Systems slumped 10%. The networking-equipment company gave a downbeat outlook for the quarter ahead, warning that big customers were exercising caution with technology spending.

U.S. stocks followed gains in Europe, where hopes rose that Greece might cobble together a government and prevent a fractious election. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6%, its first gain in three days, after declining as much as 0.7% early in the session.

"It's pretty rare for a market to simply go straight down or straight up, and I think we're in that bounceback phase," Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland. "We'll see whether there's an outright explosion that turns things really bad in Europe. They've been playing with explosives and the fuse continues to burn," he said.

In economic news, a weekly labor-market report beat expectations. Claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week versus expectations for claims to rise, though a reading on the previous week was revised slightly higher. Separately, the U.S. trade deficit widened in March, as a wave of oil imports and Chinese goods overwhelmed record exports.

Asian markets were mostly lower after Chinese trade data showed activity slowed in April. China's Shanghai Composite inched up 0.1%, breaking a three-session slide. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.4%, losing ground for the second-straight session.

In corporate news, Priceline.com fell 4.7% after the online-travel booker reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded forecasts but provided a cautious outlook for the second quarter.

Avon Products gained 3.7% after Coty boosted its bid to buy the company by 6.5% to $24.75 a share.

Kohl's fell 4.4% after the department-store operator reported first-quarter results that beat analyst estimates, but provided a second-quarter earnings outlook that was below projections.

Monster Beverage surged 9.4% after the energy-drink maker reported first-quarter results that exceeded expectations as volume and gross margin increased.

Costco Wholesale rose 1.6% after raising its quarterly dividend by 15%.

Investors cheered two public offerings in their trading debuts.

Employee benefit administrator WageWorks gained 16% from its initial public offering after shares priced lower than expected.

Mobile audio technology firm Audience jumped 14% in price after its initial pricing was higher than expected.

-By Chris Dieterich, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2611; christopher.dieterich@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 10, 2012 15:36 ET (19:36 GMT)