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Among the gainers Wednesday was Intel, which rose 83 cents, or 3 percent, at $26.21. Investors also piled into Vivus Inc., pushing its stock up nearly 10 percent, after the drug maker announced approval from regulators to sell a new weight-loss pill. Doctors consider the pill, Qsymia, the most effective of a new generation of anti-obesity drugs. The company plans to start selling it by the end of the year. Madison Square Garden's stock lost 1 percent after the owner of the New York Knicks NBA team confirmed that it was losing star player Jeremy Lin to the Houston Rockets. The Knicks said they wouldn't match a three-year, $25 million offer for the player. MSG's stock fell 36 cents to $35.45. So far this year, the Dow is up 5.7 percent, but has mostly fallen this month. Thanks to Wednesday's gain, it's back in the black for July, but barely
-- up 0.2 percent. After the market closed, a few companies reporting second-quarter results added to the somewhat positive earnings picture. Ebay said net income more than doubled, and its stock jumped 6 percent in after-hours trading. IBM, a tech bellwether, reported earnings rose 6 percent, beating analyst estimates. Its stock rose 3 percent in extended trading. Yum Brands, the owner of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, fell 2 percent after it reported a rare profit decline in its key China market. In addition to housing news, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that its survey of the economy across the country showed modest expansion in June and early July, but that growth and hiring slowed in several regions. In his second day of testimony before Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not signal any new stimulus is imminent, though he did say the Fed was looking at "ways to address the weakness in the economy should more action be needed to promote a sustained recovery in the labor market."
Treasury prices rose slightly as demand for low-risk assets remained strong. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was flat at 1.50 percent. Germany auctioned $6.14 billion in two-year treasury notes Wednesday with an average interest rate, or yield, of minus 0.06 percent. Three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was average at 3.6 billion shares.
[Associated
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