U.S. Stocks Gain Altitude With Lift From Boeing Results

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks turned higher after a rocky start Wednesday, with better-than-forecast profit at aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. helping fuel investor optimism after two sessions of losses.

"The excuses will be Boeing is having a big day, and there are other decent earnings," said Al Goldman, chief market strategist at Wachovia Securities, who pointed to EMC Corp. and Broadcom Corp.

However, Goldman believes the underlying situation is one of "a market that is bottoming out of the bear market that started in October."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 60.17 points to 12,780.4, with 17 of its 30 components tallying gains, which were led by Boeing , up 5.1% after it reported a 38% profit rise.

Blue-chip decliners included American International Group Inc. , off 2.5% after news of a $6.2 billion deal by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. to acquire Safeco Corp. to create the nation's fifth-biggest property and casualty insurer. .

Shares of Safeco ascended 46%.

The S&P 500 rose 4.74 point to 1,380.7, with information technology advancing the most, up 2.1%, followed by the health-care sector, ahead 1.6%, and telecommunications, up 1.4%.

Declining sectors on the S&P had energy down 0.5%, and materials slightly lower, off almost 0.1%.

The technology-led Nasdaq Composite advanced 23.38 points to 2,400.32, bolstered in part by VMware Inc. , which offered an upbeat first-quarter earnings report and outlook late Tuesday, while expectations were high for results from Apple Inc. scheduled for after the close. .

Shares of Broadcom were up 12.7%, with analysts citing solid first-quarter results. .

EMC reported a first-quarter profit that fell 14% from a year ago, but pegged the decline largely to acquisition-related costs. .

Crude slips

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude-oil futures were off 26 cents to $117.81 a barrel in the wake of inventory data. On Tuesday, crude soared to record highs just under $120 a barrel the previous session. .

The weekly petroleum supplies count drove energy shares down, with Dow component Exxon Mobile Corp. off 0.2%. .

Elsewhere on the NYME, gold futures accelerated their losses, under pressure as the dollar climbed against major currencies, with gold for June delivery dropping $21.7 to $900.6 an ounce. .

Ambac Financial reported a $1.66 billion loss, while WellPoint Inc. cut its earnings outlook for a second time this year.

Ambac shares lapsed 38%, and WellPoint shares were recently down 7.2%.

Shares of United Parcel Service Inc. edged lower, recently off 0.3%, after the globe's biggest package-delivery company offered a less-than-positive outlook on the economy.

Overseas, Asian stock markets generally posted modest rises, with the Nikkei 225 up 0.2% in Tokyo. In afternoon trading, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.5% in London.

U.S. stocks slumped on Tuesday on disappointing results and guidance from technology players including Texas Instruments Inc. and consumer stocks like Coach Inc. .


By Kate Gibson