Update 1: Dow Chemical Reports 86 Percent Increase
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Dow Chemical Co.&#39;s third-quarter earnings soared 86 percent to beat Wall Street forecasts, thanks largely to its ability to boost prices at a faster rate than the surging costs it paid for energy and other feedstock material.
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Stocks rose on Tuesday, pushing the Dow past the 14,000 milestone, boosted by stronger-than-expected earnings and takeover activity.
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(InfoWorld) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke a record this week, but that doesn't mean that the technology sector has recovered from its half-decade hangover after the burst of the dot-com bubble. The Nasdaq has made gains in recent weeks and closed the third quarter up about 4 percent, compared with the second quarter, but it is still is about 55 percent down from its peak in March 2000. On Tuesday, the Dow hit 11,727.34, its highest point ever, and continued to climb, closing Thursday at 11,866.69. Strong retail sales, signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve that lending rates will be kept low, and generally lower oil prices (though there have been some spikes recently) have generated a feeling of optimism for business. Though there are signs that some of this optimism has spilled into the tech sector recently, IT vendors have a long way to go before they reach the exalted levels of 2000. While the Dow index measures 30 large companies, including four of the largest IT vendors (Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp., and IBM Corp.) the Nasdaq is a much better bellwether for the tech sector, since it is so heavily weighted with technology companies, large and small. Thursday it closed at 2306.34, up 15.39 points for the day. But at its peak on March 10, 2000, it hit 5048.62. Corporate IT departments are still under great pressure to contain costs, so vendors aiming at the enterprise have an uphill battle. According to a CIO Magazine Tech Poll released this week, executives surveyed during the third quarter forecast IT budget increases of 6.5 percent for the next 12 months. That's down from an average 6.9 percent increase reported in the second-quarter survey. In one worrying sign, only 46 percent of the executives said they had intentions of moving to software-as-a-service (SAAS) computing architectures. SAAS has been seen as a harbinger of better times for the software industry. Other surveys are more optimistic, however. For example, The Equs Group's poll, also released this week, found that 55 percent of executives surveyed plan budget increases of 5 percent to 15 percent for 2007, and that 21 percent of the respondents forecast spending increases between 25 percent and 50 percent. Analysts at brokerages have been raising expectations on the tech sector, reasoning that some IT vendors shares have fallen so low that they are now a bargain. Also, price decreases as a result of vicious competition in the PC sector are expected to trigger a miniboom in hardware shopping at the end of the year. While it may take years for the Nasdaq to attain the level it reached in the boom years, some clarity around the next few quarters should happen in the next few weeks. In the week of October 16, financials reports should give a good indication of how end-of-year sales will shape up, especially in hardware. A variety of industry bellwethers will be reporting: Dell Inc., Intel Corp., Apple Computer Inc., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and IBM Corp. Intel will get a chance to report whether its latest spate of product announcements, including 64-bit processors, has helped it regain market share it lost to AMD. Analysts will get a chance to press Apple about how it will weather competition from Microsoft Corp. in the music player arena, and whether a lack of a new video iPod will be a big blow.
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DETROIT - Dow Chemical Co.&#39;s third-quarter earnings soared 86 percent to beat Wall Street forecasts, thanks largely to improved margins.
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The Dow Jones industrial average rose 89 to ten-thousand-77. Gainers on the New York Stock Exchange outnumbered losers by a better than two-to-one margin.
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NEW YORK - Investors shrugged off rising crude futures Wednesday to capture well-priced shares, sending the Nasdaq composite index up 1.6 percent ahead of Google Inc.'s much-anticipated initial public offering of stock.    In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 67.10, or 0.7 percent, to 10,039.93...
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Stock prices are shooting higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 29 points in today&#39;s early going. Advancing issues on the New York Stock Exchange hold a 4-3 lead over decliners.
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DuPont Co., the second largest U.S.  chemicals maker, said its strong double-digit revenue growth in  China would accelerate while it increased investment and  manpower in its fastest growing market.
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The tech-driven Nasdaq Composite Index  got a 1 percent boost on Thursday on gains in the semiconductor  sector, but the blue-chip Dow ended down slightly after  Caterpillar Inc. CAT.N warned about higher steel prices and  other costs.
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The Dow Jones industrial average rose on Thursday after economic bellwether Honeywell International raised its profit forecast, offsetting doubts about whether a global plan to thaw credit markets could work.
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NEW YORK - Stocks bobbed higher Monday morning after two sessions of heavy selling driven by surging oil prices and a disappointing employment report.    The Dow Jones industrial average was up 18.95, or 0.2 percent, at 10,074.15...
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Stocks rose Wednesday morning, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average within a whisper of its all-time closing high of January 2000.
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The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 120 points, lifted by a decline in Treasury yields, a rise in manufacturing activity and a spate of buyout news.
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NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average swept past 14,000 for the first time Tuesday, rising on a relatively mild inflation report and better-than-expected profit reports from blue chip names including Coca-Cola Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co.
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The Dow Jones industrial average close up 133 points on Thursday, boosted by signs that the credit markets may be thawing.
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By MICHAEL JIVKOV  Readers should keep an eye out for a Zirax today. Word has it the Russian speciality chemicals group will herald plans to increase its manufacturing facilities, allowing it to hike output of its calcium chloride pellets for the de-icing and oil-field services markets.
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The Dow Jones industrial average rose above 14,000 for the first time on Tuesday, boosted by optimism about corporate profits.