Novas medidas do Governo pressionam contas em 0,6% do PIB

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CBS MarketWatch
U.S. stocks build on gains ahead of Greenspan speech
Tuesday July 15, 9:49 am ET
By Julie Rannazzisi


NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- U.S. stocks gained traction Tuesday amid upbeat earnings news from Merrill Lynch and following an as-expected rise in June retail sales.
Fed Chief Alan Greenspan's highly anticipated testimony before Congress on the U.S. economy takes place at 10 a.m. ET.

Economists say Greenspan will try to balance his remarks to appease both the bond and stock markets. That means being upbeat enough on the U.S. economy's prospects to keep equity investors happy, while conveying that interest rates will be kept at rock-bottom levels for the foreseeable future to stoke bond investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (CBOT^DJINews) edged up 21 points, or 0.2 percent, to 9,199.

The Nasdaq Composite (NasdaqSC^IXICNews) gained 10 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,765 and the Nasdaq 100 Index (NasdaqSC^NDXNews) climbed 9 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,304.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (CBOE^SPXNews) edged up 0.4 percent while the Russell 2000 Index (CBOE^RUTNews) of small-capitalization stocks ascended 0.3 percent.

Volume came in at 94.1 million on the NYSE and at 203 million on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Winners nested losers by 16 to 10 on the NYSE and by 13 to 11 on the Nasdaq.

Retail sales climb
June retail sales rose by an as-expected 0.5 percent and climbed by 0.7 percent when excluding autos, besting the 0.3 percent increase that had been expected by economists.

In other economic news, sales at U.S. chain stores rose a healthy 0.9 percent in the latest week, according to the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS index.

Altria takes a hit; Boeing also descends
Losses in Altria Group and Boeing kept gains in the Dow Industrials in check.

Altria Group (NYSEMONews) , the parent of Philip Morris, took a 6-percent hit following an unfavorable court ruling. An Illinois appeals court, in fact, said a trial judge exceeded authority when reducing the bond Altria needed to post to appeal a $10.1 billion class-action judgment.

And Boeing (NYSEBANews) lost 2 percent after announcing that it would register a second-quarter charge of $1.1 billion due to ongoing weakness in the commercial space launch market and higher mission and launch costs.

Dow component IBM (NYSEIBMNews) was a bright spot, firming 1 percent after announcing late Monday that it scored an $801 million contract to build a computer system for the California Department of Child Support Services.

Slew of earnings news unfurled
Dow component Johnson & Johnson (NYSEJNJNews) rose 0.7 percent after checking in with a second-quarter profit from operations that narrowly topped analysts' expectations.

Brokerage powerhouse Merrill Lynch (NYSEMERNews) tacked on almost 4 percent after registering a second-quarter profit that blew past Wall Street's expectations thanks to a stellar performance in its fixed-income division and the improved tone in the equity market.

In the banking sector, FleetBoston Financial (NYSEFBFNews) tallied a second-quarter profit that slightly topped the Wall Street consensus estimate, riding on the coattails of better-than-expected results from Citigroup and Bank of America on Monday. Shares fell 1.6 percent.

Amid upbeat news in the financial arena, Fannie Mae (NYSEFNMNews) posted a second-quarter profit that narrowly missed analysts' expectations due to losses in its derivatives operations. The stock shed 2.1 percent in recent trades. Late Monday, Fannie upped its quarterly dividend by 15 percent.

In the tech sector, investors are anxiously awaiting Intel's (NasdaqNMINTCNews) second-quarter profit report, due out after the close of trade. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call are anticipating the chip titan to post earnings of 13 cents a share. Intel rose almost 1 percent.

Elsewhere in the chip sector, Rambus (NasdaqNMRMBSNews) put on 4 percent after posting late Monday second-quarter earnings that were in line with expectations while its revenue surpassed the consensus estimate.

Treasurys descend slightly
Government bonds were a shade lower, falling for a second session as investors remained nervous ahead of Greenspan's remarks on monetary policy.

The 10-year Treasury note was down 7/32 to yield (CBOE^TNXNews) 3.75 percent while the 30-year government bond eased 3/32 to yield (CBOE^TYXNews) 4.775 percent.

In the currency sector, the U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts. The greenback shed 0.4 percent to 117.19 yen and the euro edged up 0.3 percent to $1.1315.

But the U.S. dollar surged against the Canadian currency, tacking on 1.2 percent to 1.3880, after the Bank of Canada lowered its overnight lending target by 25 basis points to 3 percent in a move that caught the market off guard.

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CBS MarketWatch
U.S. stocks look to build on gains
Tuesday July 15, 9:21 am ET
By Julie Rannazzisi


NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- U.S. stocks looked to extend gains at the open Tuesday as more upbeat earnings news emerged in the financial sector and the latest data showed an as-expected rise in retail sales.
But pre-open losses in Altria Group and Boeing could put some pressure on the Dow Industrials.

Boeing (NYSEBANews) announced that it would register a second-quarter charge of $1.1 billion due to ongoing weakness in the commercial space launch market and higher mission and launch costs.

Altria Group (NYSEMONews) , the parent of Philip Morris, took a pre-open hit following an unfavorable court ruling. An Illinois appeals court, in fact, said a trial judge exceeded authority when reducing the bond Altria needed to post to appeal a $10.1 billion class-action judgment.

Retail sales climb
June retail sales rose by an as-expected 0.5 percent and climbed by 0.7 percent when excluding autos, besting the 0.3 percent increase that had been expected by economists.

In other economic news, sales at U.S. chain stores rose a healthy 0.9 percent in the latest week, according to the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS index.

Stock futures improved after the release of the data, with the September S&P 500 contract advancing 8.20 points, or 0.8 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 contract climbed 11.50 points, or 0.9 percent.

Greenspan's highly anticipated testimony before Congress on the U.S. economy at 10 a.m. ET will be the day's most market-moving event.

Economists say Greenspan will try to balance his remarks to appease both the bond and stock markets. That means being upbeat enough on the U.S. economy's prospects to keep equity investors happy, while conveying that interest rates will be kept at rock-bottom levels for the foreseeable future to stoke bond investors.

Slew of earnings news unfurled
Dow component Johnson & Johnson (NYSEJNJNews) checked in with a second-quarter profit from operations that narrowly topped analysts' expectations.

Brokerage powerhouse Merrill Lynch (NYSEMERNews) registered a second-quarter profit that blew past Wall Street's expectations thanks to a stellar performance in its fixed-income division and the improved tone in the equity market.

In the banking sector, FleetBoston Financial (NYSEFBFNews) registered a second-quarter profit that slightly topped the Wall Street consensus estimate, riding on the coattails of better-than-expected results from Citigroup and Bank of America on Monday.

Amid upbeat news in the financial arena, Fannie Mae (NYSEFNMNews) posted a second-quarter profit that narrowly missed analysts' expectations due to losses in its derivatives operations.

Treasurys descend slightly
Government bonds were a shade lower, falling for a second session as investors remained nervous ahead of Greenspan's remarks on monetary policy.

The 10-year Treasury note was down 7/32 to yield (CBOE^TNXNews) 3.75 percent while the 30-year government bond eased 3/32 to yield (CBOE^TYXNews) 4.775 percent.

In the currency sector, the U.S. dollar lost some ground against its major counterparts, shedding 0.3 percent to 117.31 yen while the euro edged up 0.2 percent to $1.1301.

But the U.S. dollar surged against the Canadian currency, tacking on 1.2 percent to 1.3880 after the Bank of Canada lowered its overnight lending target by 25 basis points to 3 percent in a move that caught markets off guard.