PortfolioCrafter - Market Commentary 7/27/05
July 27th, 2005 / 10:47 pm / by portfoliocrafter
It was a day of good news for the U.S stock market. The Federal Reserve’s “beige book” indicated low inflation, which eased investors’ worries about the outlook of the economy. The Dow rose 57.32 points, to close at 10,637.09. Besides, the Nasdaq rose 10.23 points, to close at 2,186.22. Meanwhile, the S&P closed at 1,236.79, after rising 5.63 points.
The Federal Reserve’s “beige book” survey of the central bank’s 12 districts showed that the economy improved in the June through mid-July period. Besides, durable rose 1.4 percent in June versus forecasts of 1 percent, and orders rose 6.4 percent in May. Another report showed that new home sales sold at a record 1.37 million annualized rate in June. However, U.S light crude oil for September delivery closed at $59.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling 9 cents.
Amazon.com rose $5.91, or 16 percent, to close at $43.65. Besides, second-quarter sales climbed 26 percent, to close at $1.75 billion. This rise in sales was caused by discounts and increased selling by other merchants on Amazon’s site. Besides, Boeing helped the profits in the Dow. Boeing finished session up 0.8 percent, to close at $66.85, after the company increased its estimate for the rest of the year. Boeing’s revenue rose 15 percent in the quarter, climbing nearly $15.03 billion.
Starbucks Corp. also reported sharply higher profits today. After the U.S stock market closed, Starbucks announced that it earned $126 million, or 31 cents per share, in its fiscal third quarter, which shows a 29 percent increase over the $98 million and 24 cents earned last year. Not only that, but the company’s costs of sales decreased to 40.6 percent.
All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
