The markets opened higher as investors shook off economic worries to buy oversold stocks. The Fed was expected to cut interest rates by another half point on Wednesday. The Dow surged nearly 300 points to 8475 while Nasdaq leaped 50 points to 1556.
On the upside
British oil company BP PLC (NYSE: BP) posted sharply higher 3rd quarter profits as revenue topped $100 billion for the first time.Shares of U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) edged higher after the company reported earnings that beat expectations.
An analyst at Citigroup gave Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) a buy recommendation.
On the downside
Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) announced plans to cut 5000 jobs by the end of next year. 3rd quarter revenues edged higher, but earnings fell due to higher material costs.Shares of Parexel International (Nasdaq: PRXL) tumbled after the bio/pharmaceutical services company lowered its 2009 outlook again.
Ceradyne (Nasdaq: CERN) took a one-time acquisition charge and made fewer deliveries of body armor equipment used by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 6 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 11 points to 460.
