Stocks Surge on IBM Buyback

(NEWSER) - Stocks turned south this morning, as a series of downgrades and bad news for the Sun/IBM deal spooked investors ahead of earnings season, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow dropped 92, the S&P 12. Financials sank after a veteran analyst downgraded 11 major US banks. The Nasdaq fell 33, after a downgrade from Cisco and a report that the Sun takeover deal was in jeopardy. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks took a turn for the worse at the open today, heading south after yesterday’s rally. The Dow fell 67 points, while the S&P declined 0.8%. The Nasdaq fell 0.5%, but component Sun Microsystems soared 65% on news IBM might acquire it. Investors are anxiously awaiting guidance out of today's Fed meeting, even though the target rate’s unlikely to move. The consumer price index rose 0.4% last month, a bigger-than-expected jump. More»

At least in tech

(NEWSER) - Stocks bounced back at the open this morning, as tech sector hope outpaced financial sector gloom. The Dow climbed 126 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P jumped 2% and 1.7% respectively. IBM was the star of the show, after posting a 12% surge in fourth-quarter profits and an upbeat 2009 outlook. Its shares jumped more than 8%. United Technologies likewise had a fine quarter, with its 8% profit jump beating estimates by a penny. More»

But volatility ensures we'll need to update this in no time

(NEWSER) - Stocks saw a strong open this morning, with the Dow rising 135 points after a positive quarterly report from IBM and a rally in European stocks, the Wall Street Journal reports. But investors were also mulling a worse-than-expected jobs report. Though new jobless claims fell by 20,000 last week, moving off a 7-year high, analysts had expected a slightly bigger decline. More»

Big Blue's outlook erases some gloom

(NEWSER) - After five straight trading days of losses, investors may have regained a touch of confidence as markets in Asia and Europe bounced back from their beatings today, reports Bloomberg. The rebound, fueled in part by IBM’s reaffirmation of its profit forecast, comes after the worst five-day selloff since 1987. “IBM's numbers show that it's not all doom and gloom out there,” said one expert. More»