US Stocks Edge Higher After Mixed Earnings




U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday as a mixed crop of corporate earnings reports and subdued economic readings left the market struggling for direction.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10 points to 11996. On Wednesday the measure crossed the 12000 threshold, but slipped in late trading to close just below the key level.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 2746. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index edged up less than one point to 1297.

Thursday's economic data doused earlier optimism over a slew of companies reporting quarterly earnings on Thursday.

Dampening optimism about the jobs market, the Labor Department said the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly surged last week by 51,000 to 454,000 in the week ended Jan. 22. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected claims would rise by just 1,000 to 405,000. However, the government cautioned that the week's data was likely distorted by bad weather.

Separately, orders for long-lasting goods unexpectedly declined by 2.5% in December, when forecasters had expected to see a rise of 1.4%.

Quarterly reports from a batch of bellwether consumer companies and a pair of drugmakers found a mixed reaction in the market.

Consumer giant Procter & Gamble sank 3.2% after its fiscal second-quarter profit slid 28% compared to a prior-year period that included a large gain from discontinued operations and margins fell as commodity costs grew.

Colgate-Palmolive, the world's largest toothpaste maker by sales, dropped 2.5% after its fourth-quarter earnings fell 1.1% on lower-than-expected revenue as higher materials costs hit margins. The company also forecast fiscal third-quarter earnings of 95 cents to $1 a share, potentially disappointing analysts looking for 99 cents.

Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 0.9%, even after issuing a profit forecast for 2011 that fell short of Wall Street expectations, citing the effects of a product recall and higher costs associated with the health-care overhaul enacted last year. Fourth-quarter earnings plunged 94% from a year-earlier period that was inflated by a large gain on a divestiture.

Fellow drug maker Eli Lilly gained 0.4% after its fourth-quarter earnings rose 28%, as higher sales of an antidepressant and a cancer drug helped boost revenue.

Heavy-machinery maker Caterpillar edged up 0.1% after the company's fourth-quarter earnings soared, beating analysts' estimates as demand recovered from slumping levels a year earlier.

Home builder D.R. Horton slid 3.3% after swinging to a bigger-than-expected fiscal first-quarter loss, hurt by sharply lower home-sale revenue in the absence of a federal home-buyer credit.

The U.S. dollar strengthened against the yen after ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut Japan's long-term credit rating to double-A-minus from double-A, citing concerns over the country's high debt levels.

However, the dollar hit a two-month low against the euro, which was boosted by the weak U.S. economic data and hawkish rhetoric from a European Central Bank executive board member. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking from Davos, pledged never to let the euro fail. The common currency was trading recently at $1.3728, up from $1.3691 late Wednesday in New York.

Demand for U.S. Treasurys weakened, lifting yield on the 10-year note up to 3.42%. Crude-oil prices edged down, while gold futures climbed.