US stocks rise on retail earnings

US stocks were moving higher in early trading today (November 13th) as traders welcomed positive corporate earnings news. 

Wal-Mart Stores rose 3.7 per cent after reporting better-than-expected income and revenue. Media conglomerate Viacom rose two per cent, to $70.62 (£44.87) after its own results beat forecasts. 

Cisco Systems rose 1.4 per cent to $25.46, while DreamWorks Animation soared 16 per cent to $25.95. It is asking for more than $30 a share from Hasbro, according to reports.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.3 per cent to 2,043.40 at 9:58 ET in New York, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent, to 17,667.46.

"One of the positives for the market are positive reactions from retail names to earnings," Joe Bell, a Cincinnati-based senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc. told Bloomberg.

 "A lot of the consumer discretionary sector had low expectations coming into this season, but we saw positive results from Macy’s yesterday and Wal-Mart today," he added.

Recent Thomson Reuters data showed that of 453 companies in the S&P 500 to report this quarter, 74.8 per cent beat expectations, above the 63 per cent average rate since 1994 and 67 per cent for the past four quarters. 

Positive employment data also lifted sentiment. Weekly initial jobless claims rose 12,000 to 290,000, above expectations for 280,000 claims.

"What we've seen is the market kind of inching out little gains," Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois, told Reuters.

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