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Financial Markets 02/06 15:22
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street drifted through mixed trading Thursday as
rising fashion and cigarette stocks worked against drops for Ford Motor and
Qualcomm.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% following healthy gains for stock markets across much
of Europe and Asia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 125 points, or
0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.5%.
Tapestry, the company behind the Coach and Kate Spade brands, helped lead
the market and jumped 12%. It reported stronger profit for the latest quarter
than analysts expected after attracting new, younger customers. Tapestry also
raised its forecast for revenue and profit growth this fiscal year.
Philip Morris International, which sells Marlboro cigarettes and smokeless
tobacco products around the world, was one of the strongest forces pushing
upward on the S&P 500 and rallied 10.9% after reporting a better profit than
expected. It also gave financial forecasts that topped expectations, and
analysts pointed in particular to strength for its Zyn nicotine pouches.
They helped offset a 7.5% drop for Ford Motor, which fell even though the
automaker delivered a stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than
analysts expected. Investors focused instead on Ford's financial forecasts for
2025, which the company said incorporates "headwinds related to market factors."
The company gave a forecasted range for how much cash it will generate this
year whose midpoint fell below analysts' expectations, for example.
Qualcomm also kept indexes in check after falling 3.7%. The company, whose
products help power smartphones and other devices, reported profit for the
latest quarter that topped analysts' forecasts, and analysts called the
performance solid. But they also said expectations were high, and worries are
rising about the wireless chip industry broadly.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report
said more U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than expected,
though the number remains low compared with history. A more comprehensive
report will arrive on Friday, showing how many jobs U.S. employers added during
the month of January.
The hope is Friday's data will show a job market that remains solid enough
to keep worries about a possible downturn at bay but not so strong that it
pushes upward on inflation. The U.S. economy has remained much more solid than
critics feared, but pressure is rising in part because of the threat of
potential tariffs coming from President Donald Trump.
After rocking financial markets around the world at the start of this week,
worries about a potentially punishing global trade war have eased a bit after
Trump gave 30-day reprieves for tariffs on both Mexico and Canada.
While discussing Ford Motor's earnings and financial forecasts, CEO Jim
Farley said his company can manage a "few weeks" of tariffs of 25% on Canadian
and Mexican imports. But if they're protracted, they would have "a huge impact
on our industry," resulting in higher prices for customers, losses of U.S. jobs
and the elimination of billions of dollars of industry profits.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, another company reliant on spending by consumers
around the world, Ralph Lauren, rallied 9.7% after reporting stronger profit
and revenue than expected. Growth was particularly strong in China, where the
company recently opened stores in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Eli Lilly rose 3.3% after the drugmaker showed how demand for its
hot-selling diabetes and obesity treatments is swelling its profits.
Honeywell fell 5.6% and was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500. It
announced it will split into three independent, publicly-traded companies,
following in the footsteps of other conglomerates such as General Electric.
The North Carolina company, one of the few U.S. conglomerates still in
existence, expects to complete the spin-off of its automation and aerospace
technologies businesses sometime in late 2026.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 22.09 points to 6,083.57. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average dropped 125.65 to 44,747.63, and the Nasdaq composite rose
99.66 to 19,791.99.
In stock markets abroad, London's FTSE 100 jumped 1.2% after the Bank of
England cut its main interest rate as it slashed its forecast for economic
growth. The British economy has barely grown over the past six months, and the
Bank of England halved its growth projection for the British economy this year
to 0.75%.
Stock indexes also rose 1.5% in Paris, 1.4% in Hong Kong and 0.6% in Tokyo.
In Japan, Honda Motor Co. fell, and Nissan Motor Corp. rose after Japanese
media said they were ditching their talks to set up a joint holding company.
Neither company confirmed the report. An update on the talks is expected by
mid-February, but no date has been set.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 4.43%, where it was late
Wednesday.
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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
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