Stocks Close Mostly Higher On Greek Vote, Upbeat Earnings - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday, more than offsetting the modest weakness seen in the previous session. With the strength on the day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a new record closing high.

The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts. The Nasdaq jumped 64.24 points or 1.3 percent to 5,163.18, while the Dow rose 70.08 points or 0.4 percent to 18,120.25 and the S&P 500 climbed 16.89 points or 0.8 percent to 2,124.29.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to news that the Greek parliament voted to approve the tough austerity measures needed to secure a fresh bailout.

Trepidation ahead of the vote contributed to choppy trading on Wednesday, although Greek lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the agreement.

Additionally, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the central bank has granted increased emergency liquidity assistance for Greek banks.

Buying interest was also generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from a number of big-name companies.

Shares of Netflix (NFLX) moved sharply higher after the video streaming service provider reported better than expected second quarter results on strong subscriber growth.

Semiconductor giant Intel (INTC) also ended the day higher after reporting second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.

Citigroup (C) and UnitedHealth (UNH) also reported better than expected second quarter results, while Goldman Sachs (GS) reported second quarter earnings that fell sharply due to a hefty litigation charge.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing that initial jobless claims pulled back by more than expected in the week ended July 11th.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 281,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level of 296,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 285,000.

The National Association of Home Builders also released a report showing homebuilder confidence at a nearly ten-year high in July.

Sector News

Tobacco stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index up by 2.7 percent. With the gain, the index reached a new record closing high.

Philip Morris (PM) turned in one of the tobacco sector's best performances after reporting better than expected second quarter results.

The strong gain by Netflix also contributed to significant strength in the internet sector, with the Dow Jones Internet Index jumping by 2.4 percent. The gain lifted the index to its best levels since 2000.

Biotechnology stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The index also ended the session at a new record closing high.

Utilities, electronic storage, retail and software stocks also saw notable strength, while gold stocks bucked the uptrend amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both jumped by 1.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries ended the day session roughly flat after recovering from early weakness. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 2.352 percent.

Looking Ahead

Another batch of U.S. economic data is due to be released on Friday, with traders likely to keep an eye on reports on consumer prices, housing starts, and consumer sentiment.

On the earnings front, Google (GOOG), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Mattel (MAT) are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.

General Electric (GE) and Honeywell (HON) are also due to report their second quarter results before the start of trading on Friday.