Posted on: Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Stocks climb modestly despite spike in oil prices
By Michael J. Martinez
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Another jump in oil prices pre-empted a strong rally on Wall Street yesterday, though stocks managed to post modest gains on the strength of a consumer price report that put many investors' inflation fears to rest for the near term.
Stocks managed to stay in positive territory thanks to a better-than-expected Consumer Price Index reading. The CPI registered a small drop in July, giving consumers a respite from soaring energy prices.
Housing construction also saw better-than-expected gains, with the Commerce Department reporting an 8.3 percent increase in home and apartment construction in July, more than making up for the 7.7 percent drop in June.
A number of earnings reports from retailers also gave investors a boost.
Dow component Home Depot Inc. surged $1.12 to $35.10 after the home improvement retailer reported record sales and a 19 percent increase in second-quarter profits. Home Depot beat Wall Street expectations by 7 cents per share and raised its guidance for future quarters.
Office supply chain Staples Inc. saw its profits rise 39 percent in the quarter, beating expectations by 2 cents per share. Staples, which also announced new ventures in Europe and China, gained 99 cents to $28.87.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where preliminary consolidated volume came to 1.56 billion shares, compared with 1.47 billion on Monday.
The three major indexes all finished the session higher, showing resiliency in the face of a new record high in oil futures fueled by continuing problems for Russian oil giant Yukos. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $46.75, up 70 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
