|
ADP also said December job growth was smaller than it previously reported
-- 292,000 instead 325,000. The government releases its report on January job creation Friday. Investors also looked past a cautious outlook from temporary employee provider ManpowerGroup. Its stock jumped 14 percent after fourth-quarter profits came in much higher than expected. But the company said that while hiring may increase this spring, the European debt crisis could slow job creation. It predicted lower profits in the current quarter than Wall Street had expected. In other corporate news: Amazon.com fell 7.7 percent after its quarterly net income fell and revenue growth was slower than Wall Street had expected. Whirlpool rose 13.5 percent after higher appliance prices raised its quarterly profit, and it said it expects shipments to increase as much as 3 percent in North America this year. Health insurer Aetna rose 3.1 percent after reporting a 73 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit on smaller expenses and lower usage of health care. Carmakers reported strong U.S. auto sales for January, with gains at all the big companies except General Motors. Privately held Chrysler's U.S. sales surged 44 percent, and it reported its first annual profit since 1997. In Europe, British stocks rose 1.9 percent, German stocks 2.4 percent and French stocks 2.1 percent. Earlier in Asia, stocks didn't have the same momentum. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 edged up less than 0.1 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.3 percent. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rose 0.029 percentage points to 1.832. The euro rose slightly to almost 1.32 against the dollar. Oil prices fell after reports that U.S. crude supplies rose last week and energy demand remains weak. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 87 cents to end at $97.61 a barrel in New York. Brent crude rose by 58 cents to finish at $111.56 a barrel in London.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor