The search giant's results -- released early -- disappoint and slam tech shares. Microsoft's earnings don't excite. Investors hate Chipotle's results. Travelers and Verizon earnings impress. Gold and oil slip.
Investors are dismayed by weak outlooks from Chevron and Alcoa. Costco and Yum results cheer, and Wal-Mart cites strong back-to-school sales. 3rd-quarter PC sales slump. In a modestly improving economy, the Fed sees new housing activity.
The Dow enjoys a 78-point gain, but the Nasdaq goes negative as Apple and Amazon.com slide. The Institute for Supply Management says manufacturing gained some momentum in September. Google's market capitalization moves past Microsoft's.
The Dow sees a 60-point gain fade to just 12 points, despite hopes a solution for Europe's debt crisis is coming into focus. FedEx shares are lower on a profit warning. Dollar General boosts guidance. Crude oil recovers early losses.
A soft jobs market is not the only reason for the sell-off in stocks and oil. Add in weak Hewlett-Packard results and economic weakening in Europe and China. Gold manages to end higher. New-home sales grind higher; housing stocks slip.
Worries that the Strait of Hormuz may get blocked push oil prices up some 4%. Brent crude tops $100. US factory orders grow in May. June auto sales are strong; SUVs do well. Barclay's CEO quits. Microsoft takes a $6.2 billion writedown.
A 157-point gain puts the Dow at pre-2008 crash levels after the economy adds 243,000 jobs in January, the most since April. The services economy also sees growth. Crude oil and interest rates rise; gold slips. Apple hits a new high.
IBM, Intel and Microsoft power the blue chips and the S&P 500 Index higher. Google's earnings miss holds the Nasdaq back. Existing-home sales rose in December. Crude oil drops below $100; gold rallies.
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