(As of 8:41 am pacific)
The markets drifted higher this morning as earnings
dominated the headlines. No major
economic reports were due out this morning, as investors drawn toward healthy
earnings reports from several large US companies. Microsoft shares led the way rising 5.35% on
a strong earnings report. GE profit
drops, but CEO Jeff Immelt says GE is positioned for double digit growth. Schlumberger profits gain, beating estimates
and causing shares to rise 4.30%.
McDonald’s first-quarter earnings rose 4.8% as sales grew faster than
expected, stock up 2.09%. European
markets traded mostly higher, with Spanish stocks rising as investors find it a
good time to buy cheap. Nothing fundamentally
changed for Spain. Asian stocks mostly
lower, however China indices up 1%. WTI
crude oil prices climb 1.51% to 103.81 while gold trades relatively flat at
1642. The US dollar was down and the 10
yr. treasury yield rose slightly to 1.98%.
30 yr. mortgage rates remained low at 3.88%. The CBOE volatility index dropped 5.83% to
17.29.
