LONDON (ShareCast) - - S&P 500, Dow hit new highs
- Jobless claims, Philly Fed beat forecasts
- Bernanke says much of the same

Dow Jones: 0.51%
Nasdaq: 0.03%
S&P 500: 0.48%

US stocks gained on Thursday as economic data and a raft of corporate earnings came in better than expected, sending both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones to fresh record highs.

Claims for unemployment benefits fell to 334,000 last week, from a revised 358,000 the week before. This was much better than the fall to 345,000 expected.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index jumped from 12.5 to 19.8 in July, surprising the consensus of analysts who were expected a fall to 8.0.

The positive mood on markets was extended from the day before after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the Fed's $85bn-a-month asset purchase programme is "by no means on a pre-set course".

In another testimony to the Senate Banking Committee today, it was much of the same as he reiterated that nothing was predetermined and the plan may change if the economic outlook turned for the worse.

A surprise announcement from the European Central Bank (ECB) also helped sentiment as it announced that it will modify its collateral rules for banks in an attempt to reactivate lending to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Morgan Stanley was a high riser after joining a host of heavyweight banking stocks to beat estimates this earnings season. The bank earnings 45 cents a share in the second quarter, slightly ahead of the 43 cents forecast. Revenues of $8.5bn also came in ahead of expectations due to increases in trading and investment banking activity.

Tech giant IBM climbed after raising its full-year earnings guidance by 20 cents to $16.90 a share, which excludes restructuring charges.

Healthcare group UnitedHealth jumped after revealing profits that surpassed estimates and said it was "strongly positive" about the future.

eBay was one company that failed to meet expectations, with shares falling sharply after the online marketplace disappointed last night. Needham and Co also downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'hold'.

Intel also fell after projecting worse-than-expected sales for the third quarter as it reported a steep fall in second-quarter earnings.


S&P 500 - Risers
Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) $40.43 +8.28%
Safeway Inc. (SWY) $26.32 +6.77%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $70.55 +6.52%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $4.64 +5.94%
International Game Technology (IGT) $20.17 +5.93%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $45.82 +5.26%
SLM Corp. (SLM) $24.44 +4.40%
Aetna Inc. (AET) $64.23 +4.37%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $27.70 +4.37%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $72.64 +4.23%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Amphenol Corp. (APH) $76.35 -9.72%
Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) $167.94 -8.32%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $53.52 -6.73%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $51.10 -3.77%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.24 -3.75%
American Express Co. (AXP) $74.01 -3.63%
Sprint Nextel Corporation (S) $6.05 -3.20%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (NWSA) $15.47 -2.64%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $133.05 -2.61%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $34.22 -2.51%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $70.55 +6.52%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $14.76 +3.14%
Boeing Co. (BA) $107.63 +2.71%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $56.37 +1.99%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $197.99 +1.77%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $94.38 +0.98%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $125.47 +0.90%
3M Co. (MMM) $115.48 +0.73%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $65.82 +0.70%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $84.53 +0.64%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.24 -3.75%
American Express Co. (AXP) $74.01 -3.63%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.97 -1.52%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $47.40 -1.52%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $85.72 -1.10%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $35.44 -0.84%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $28.49 -0.66%
AT&T Inc. (T) $35.74 -0.61%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $80.02 -0.52%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $40.81 -0.07%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $56.40 +5.42%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $45.82 +5.26%
Catamaran Corp (CTRX) $50.80 +2.98%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $61.20 +2.96%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $111.58 +2.66%
Fossil Group Inc (FOSL) $110.39 +2.54%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $111.20 +2.46%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $41.31 +2.08%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $15.57 +1.96%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $74.08 +1.94%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $53.52 -6.73%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $27.40 -4.70%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.24 -3.75%
Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $37.60 -3.39%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (NWSA) $15.47 -2.64%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $133.05 -2.61%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $61.12 -2.45%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $26.18 -1.76%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $304.11 -1.48%
Equinix Inc. (EQIX) $200.46 -1.01%

BC

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