SALON

Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 3:15 PM UTC

Stocks edge higher in early trading

By

Topics: From the Wires,

Stocks edged higher in early trading on Wall Street, boosted by gains for discount retailers, after Dollar Tree posted strong earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30 points, or 0.2 percent, to 13,929. The Standard and Poor’s 500 gained 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,500. The Nasdaq composite fell seven points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,136.

Discount retailer Dollar Tree Inc. rose $4.50 to $45.57 after it said its net income increased nearly 22 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter as consumers spent more at its stores. Dollar General and Family Dollar Stores also advanced.

Orders for U.S. factory goods that signal business investment plans jumped last month by the most in more than a year, suggesting that companies are confident about their business prospects.

The Commerce Department said orders for so-called core capital goods, which include machinery, equipment and software, rose 6.3 percent in January from December. However, a sharp drop in demand for commercial aircraft caused overall durable goods orders to drop 5.2 percent, the first decline since August.

Stocks bounced back Tuesday after logging heavy losses at the start of the week.

Both the Dow and the S&P logged their biggest losses in more than three months Monday on concern about Europe after elections in Italy left the country with political gridlock.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, fell 2 basis points to 1.86 percent.

Among other stocks making big moves;

— Priceline.com, a Travel website operator, gained $26.45 to $704.60 after it said late Tuesday that its net income jumped in the fourth quarter as bookings grew.

— First Solar plunged $4.31 to $27.02 after the company posted disappointing sales for the fourth-quarter and offered a weak early outlook for the year.

By Steve Rothwell

More By Steve Rothwell.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations