Upbeat corporate earnings tempered a gain in jobless claims to lift the markets to a modestly higher open with the Dow adding 9 points to 12,918. Nasdaq rose 14 points to 2957.
On the upside
Second quarter earnings more than doubled for eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) to top analyst estimates as revenue soared.
Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) and Express Scripts (Nasdaq: ESRX) ended their seven month dispute with a multiyear agreement that begins on September 15.
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) widened second quarter losses as revenue fell but the company sold more Lumia phones than expected.
On the downside
Anthera Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ANTH) priced its public offering of common stock at the discounted price of $1.00 per share.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the second quarter but the results fell short of analyst expectations and revenue dropped.
Safeway (NYSE: SWY) blamed higher expenses for a drop in second quarter earnings.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 9 to 7 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 2 points to 802.
Upbeat Earnings Lift Markets To Higher Open
July 19, 2012 at 10:46 AM EDT
