September surprise: Stocks soar

Stocks end August with a whimper

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 4 points, or less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 (SPX) edged up less than 1 point. The Nasdaq (COMP) composite lost 6 points, or 0.3%.

On Tuesday, stocks were supported earlier in the session by a larger-than-expected rise in consumer confidence and a jump in U.S. home prices. But the tone turned bearish late in the day after the Fed released minutes from its Aug. 10 meeting.

The minutes raised concerns that the central bank may not take steps to support the faltering economic recovery unless conditions deteriorate significantly, said Dan Cook, senior market analyst at IG Markets.

"The market was anticipating that they would get in with a bit of a slowdown," he said. "But the minutes suggest that things will have to get a lot worse."

Cook said trading will probably remain volatile as investors await key economic reports due later this week, including the government's closely watched monthly jobs numbers on Friday.

"It's hard to be long or short ahead of the non-farms payroll report," he said.

Investors have been focused on the outlook for the U.S. economy recently as the nation's growth has slowed. In particular, they are worried that the weak job market will continue to weigh on consumer spending -- which drives the bulk of economic activity.

Economic reports due Wednesday morning include an index of nationwide manufacturing activity and a report on private sector job cuts in August. In addition, major automakers report August sales figures throughout the day.

The uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook and historically low trading volumes led to increased turbulence on Wall Street during August. The CBOE Market Volatility Index, or VIX (VIX), rose more than 18% in August to 26.05.

Trading volumes continued to be light Tuesday with many market participants on vacation this week. Stocks dropped more than 1% in thin trading Monday.

Economy: Investors welcomed a slight improvement in the economic news Tuesday with better-than-expected readings on consumer confidence and home prices.

The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence rose to a reading of 53.5 in August from an adjusted 51 in July. Economists were expecting the index to come in at 50, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.

The rebound in confidence numbers was attributed mostly to an improvement in how consumers view the short-term economic outlook, the Conference Board said. Meanwhile, the weak job market continues to darken their long-term view.

"The comfort in this release is that confidence did not fall further," said Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics. "But there are few signs that households will ramp up their spending."

Separately, the Chicago PMI, a regional reading on manufacturing activity, fell to 56.7 in August. That's down from 62.3 in July and slightly weaker than expected. Economists were looking for 57 in August.

Before the market opened, a report showed that national home prices jumped a substantial 3.6% in the past year, versus a forecasted 3.1% gain. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index also showed that prices climbed 4.4% in the second quarter, compared with a 2.8% plunge in the first quarter.

Investors are especially wary ahead of Friday's big employment report, which is expected to show that the economy lost jobs for a third month in a row in August.

Economists expect employers to have shed 120,000 jobs in August, after cutting payrolls by 131,000 in July. The unemployment rate is forecast to creep up to 9.6% from 9.5%.

Companies: Technology shares came under pressure after research firm Gartner lowered its forecast for PC sales in the second half of 2010, citing an uncertain economic outlook in the United States and Europe.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, or SOX (SOX), fell nearly 2%.

Monsanto (MON, Fortune 500) fell almost 6% after the company warned that its fiscal year earnings per share will be at the lower end of its forecasted range. The agribusiness giant said it expects to earn between $2.40 and $2.45 a share this fiscal year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect $2.48 per share.

Shares of Saks Inc. (SKS) spiked 20% after a report from the Daily Mail said a group of U.S. and U.K. private equity companies may soon bid $1.7 billion, or $11 per share, for the high-end retailer.

Data-storage company 3PAR (PAR) rose nearly 1% as a Reuters survey revealed that most analysts and investors expect Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) to bow out of the bidding war with Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ, Fortune 500) Dell has until Wednesday to match HP's $2 billion bid for 3PAR.

World markets: European shares closed higher. The CAC 40 in France edged up 0.1%, the DAX in Germany rose 0.2%, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.4%.

Asian markets ended lower. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index sank 3.6% to a 16-month closing low. The Shanghai Composite decreased 0.5% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1%.

Meanwhile, India's economy grew by 8.8% during the three months ended June 30. That compares with 8.6% during the previous quarter and 6% growth during the same quarter a year ago.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar edged lower against the euro and the Japanese yen but was higher versus the British pound.

Oil futures for October delivery fell $3 to $71.70 a barrel. Gold for December delivery gained $11.10 to $1,250.30 an ounce.

Bonds: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.48% from 2.54% late Monday. 

Stocks drop as fear returns

Stocks recover from housing blues

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 20 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 (SPX) rose 3 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) composite climbed 18 points, or 0.8%.

Lennar Corp., (LEN) KB Home (KBH) and Toll Brothers (TOL) all gained more than 3%.

"[It's] a sign that they had priced in the bad news, and this has allowed the rest of the market to come back," said Peter Boockvar, chief market strategist with Miller Taback & Co.

But the same news that lifted homebuilding stocks battered the financial sector, with big names like Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) edging lower.

"[Banks] have given back the entire year of gains because they are holding mortgage-related debt," said Boockvar. "House prices have taken a leg down because of this data, and if a person pays less for a home, this hurts a bank's balance sheet."

On Tuesday, stocks sank after a 27% plunge in existing home sales fueled worries about an economic slowdown, sending the Dow 134 points lower on the day.

Last week, the Dow and S&P ended down for a second straight week as disappointing economic reports slammed investor confidence.

"It's been a brutal few weeks," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors. "Stocks are extraordinarily cheap and oversold at this point, but the question is, are they sufficiently cheap to discount the economic weakness?"

Economy: New home sales unexpectedly plummeted to the lowest level on record in July, dropping 12.4% in July, the government reported. Economists had expected sales to bump higher.

The disappointing data comes right on the heels of another dismal housing report on Tuesday, which showed a sharp drop in existing home sales.

Meanwhile, new orders for long-lasting goods fell short of forecasts, edging up a modest 0.3% in July. Economists had expected the government report to show a 3% jump.

Companies: Homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) booked its first quarterly profit in three years on Wednesday, thanks largely to a boost from the homebuyer tax credit.

The company said net income was $27.3 million in the quarter, or 16 cents per share, after posting a loss of $472.3 million, or $2.93 a share, a year ago. Shares of Toll Brothers rose 6%.

World markets: European shares slumped. The CAC 40 in France sank 1%, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.9%, while the DAX in Germany ended 0.6% lower.

Late Tuesday, Standard & Poor slashed Ireland's sovereign debt rating to double-A-minus due to the massive cost of bailing out the nation's banks.

Asian markets also ended lower. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index dropped 1.7%, hitting a 16-month low. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.1%, and the Shanghai Composite sank more than 2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and the British pound, but firmed versus the Japanese yen.

Oil futures for October delivery gained 89 cents to settle at $72.52 a barrel. Gold for December delivery rose $7.90 to settle at $1,1241.30 an ounce.

Bonds: The yield on the 10-year note rose to 2.54%, bouncing off a 19-month low of 2.49% on Tuesday.

Stocks lose big on home sales shock

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) sank 134 points, or 1.3%, the S&P 500 (SPX) lost 15 points, or 1.5%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) composite fell 36 points, or 1.7%.

Declines were led by tech, finance and health care stocks, with General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) and Sony (SNE) sliding more than 2%, Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) dropping more than 1% and Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) slipping 2%. Among the biggest losers, Medtronic (MDT, Fortune 500) shares sank 11% after the medical device maker booked disappointing quarterly earnings and lowered its full-year outlook.

Wall Street struggled through another choppy session Monday, with stocks finishing lower as ongoing worries about the global economy pushed excitement about deal-making talks to the backburner.

Economy: The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales plummeted 27% last month to an annual rate of 3.83 million units, marking the lowest sales pace since the association began tracking the figure in 1999. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast a rate of 4.72 million units.

Meanwhile, a report released Tuesday showed that disagreements among the 17 key Federal Reserve officials about how to handle the economy peaked at a meeting earlier this month, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Currencies, bonds and commodities: The dollar fell to a 15-year low against the Japanese yen in early trading, slipped against the euro, but climbed against the British pound.

"The yen is extremely strong, giving people real concern about our economy," said Saluzzi. "And with the 10-year yield this low, it shows people are really willing to put their money into Treasurys. All of this together means the risk trade is definitely off."

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note approached a 17-month low Tuesday, falling to 2.50% from 2.6% late Monday.

Treasury yields have been holding near historic lows recently as economic jitters have boosted the appeal of so-called "safe" investments such as government-backed debt.

In other markets, oil futures for October delivery fell $1.47 to settle at $71.63 a barrel. Gold for December delivery added $4.90, settling at $1,233.40 an ounce.

World markets: European shares finished sharply lower. The CAC 40 in France dropped 1.7%, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 1.5% and the DAX in Germany fell 1.3%.

Asian markets ended mixed. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index ended down 1.3% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 1.1%. But the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4%.

Companies: Barnes & Noble (BKS, Fortune 500), which put itself up for sale earlier this month, posted a quarterly loss that widely missed expectations and said same-store sales fell in the first quarter.

Shares of the bookseller ended more than 2% lower.

Stocks in for summer slip 'n' slide

Earlier this week, mining giant BHP Billiton's (BHP) $43.8 billion unsolicited bid for Canadian fertilizer-maker Potash Corp. (POT) was the biggest deal this year, bringing weekly M&A volume to $89.8 billion.

And on Thursday, Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) agreed to buy security software maker McAfee (MFE) for $7.68 billion, in what would be the chipmaker's biggest acquisition ever.

Historically, August is a slower month for M&A activity but last week's total is the largest of any August week in four years, according to Thomson Reuters.

On the other hand, the negative: The headline economic indicator continues to be jobs, and the news there has been grim at best. The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits surged to a 9-month high last week and has been stuck in the mid- to higher 400,000s since November.

Economists are looking to see that weekly number of first-time filers tick down to 400,000 or lower before they're truly convinced a recovery is underway. They'll be closely watching for the government's most recent jobs data on Thursday.

Tuesday: The July report on existing homes sales from the National Association of Realtors is due during morning trading Tuesday. Sales of existing homes fell 5.1% in June to a 5.37 million-unit pace -- a sign of renewed turbulence in the housing market. Economists polled by Briefing.com are expecting July to show another slowdown in sales, down to 5.14 million.

Wednesday: The Commerce Department reports data on durable goods orders -- a measure of products meant to last at least three years, such as cars and computers.

Recovering after the recession, orders rallied more than 20% between March 2009 and April 2010. But the measure has posted back-to-back declines for the last two months. Economists are forecasting a 3.4% increase for July.

They're also waiting for the latest figures on new home sales, which are expected to show a slight uptick to 338,000 in July, up from 330,000 the month before.

Thursday: The government releases its weekly numbers on first-time unemployment filers. Last week, stocks took a hit when the number increased dramatically to 500,000 initial claims.

Friday: The government's revised reading on gross domestic product is due on Friday.

GDP is the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com are expecting the government to revise the number to 1.4%, showing a significant slowdown from its previous reading of 2.4%. 

Stocks rally for second day in a row

After starting out the day lower, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 10 points, or 0.1%, to 10,416 the S&P 500 (SPX) inched up 2 points, or 0.2%, to 1,094 and the Nasdaq (COMP) composite rose 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2,216.

Those gains built on Wall Street's strong advance the day before. But with no major economic releases on tap Wednesday, the market was having trouble finding direction as stocks jumped around throughout the day.

Target seemed to lift the retail sector when the company offered a profit outlook for the current quarter that was in line with analysts' estimates, even though its latest earnings were lackluster.

Otherwise, a sheer lack of other economic reports seemed to buoy markets, said Bruce McCain, senior vice president and chief investment strategist of Key Private Bank.

"This is just the eye of the storm where there's not a lot of economic information that's roiling the markets," he said. "An absence of anything terribly bad has buoyed expectations."

Bonds: Treasury prices eased Wednesday, pushing yields up. The yield on the 10-year note rose to 2.64% from 2.63% late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Companies: Discount retailer Target (TGT, Fortune 500) reported a profit that rose 14% from a year earlier and was in line with expectations, but the company missed revenue forecasts.

After falling earlier in the session, shares of Target rose 2.7% in afternoon trading as investors welcomed the company's outlook for its current quarter -- which is in line with analyst expectations. On a call with investors in the morning, Target management hinted at improved sales this fall.

Meanwhile, energy companies Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) dragged on the Dow's gains. Their stocks fell about 1% after the government announced both crude and gasoline inventories were at unusually high levels for August.

Speculators are concerned that demand for fuel is not keeping up with growing U.S. stockpiles.

Mining giant BHP Billiton (BHP) said Wednesday it was taking its takeover offer for Potash (POT) directly to the fertilizer giant's shareholders. On Tuesday, Potash's board rejected BHP's $38.6 billion bid.

Potash shares, which were up nearly 28% Tuesday, gained another 3.6% Wednesday, while BHP was down 2.9% after a 2% drop the day before.

Deere (DE, Fortune 500) posted better-than-expected profit and revenue for its third fiscal quarter, but the farm-equipment maker's earnings forecast for the current quarter of $375 million is below the $385 million analysts were looking for. Shares of Deere fell 1.8%.

Just before the closing bell, General Motors filed for an initial public offering that could drastically reduce the holdings of the U.S. government, which currently owns 61% of the company, and repay some taxpayer money used to bail the company out. The company did not disclose how many shares it will sell, or at what price.

World markets: Markets in Asia ended the session mixed. Japan's benchmark Nikkei jumped 0.9%. But the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite both finished the session with losses.

European markets all closed lower, with France's CAC 40 dropping 0.4%, the FTSE 100 in Britain falling 0.9% and Germany's DAX losing 0.3%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained against the euro, but fell against the U.K. pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil futures for September delivery fell 35 cents to settle at $75.42 a barrel. Gold for December delivery rose $3.10 to settle at $1,231.40. 

Internet sales soar in China

Stocks come off week-long slump

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 104 points, or 1%, pushing the index to 10,406.

The Nasdaq (COMP) composite climbed 28 points, or 1.3%, to 2,209; the S&P 500 (SPX) added 13 points, or 1.2%, to close at 1,092.

The gains followed a choppy trading day on Wall Street on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq managed to advance, rising about 0.4%, while the Dow and S&P 500 ended little changed.

Investors started the week coming off four consecutive sessions of losses, following a bearish statement from the Federal Reserve a week ago.

And while the Fed's outlook about a slowing economic recovery is still weighing on investors' minds, their fears were calmed on Tuesday when Narayana Kocherlakota -- head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis -- said those concerns about the central bank's statement are "unwarranted."

"My own interpretation is that the FOMC action led investors to believe that the economic situation in the United States was worse than they, the investors, had imagined. In my view, this reaction is unwarranted," Kocherlakota said in a speech Tuesday.

That statement helped propped markets up toward key psychological levels as the S&P 500 traded near 1,100 and the Dow looked to turned positive for the year in afternoon trading, said Dan Cook, senior market strategist with Chicago-based brokerage firm IG Markets. The Dow fell short of matching its 2009 close.

Cook said strong earnings reports from retail powerhouses Wal-Mart and Home Depot in the morning also helped to drive stocks higher.

But he added, he doesn't the think "the game has changed."

"As far as the fundamentals and corporate earnings are concerned, I just don't get a warm, fuzzy feeling," he said. "I'm looking for choppy action for the foreseeable future, all the way into September."

Companies: Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500) reported a slightly better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter profit Tuesday, although customers of the world's largest retailer continued to curb spending. Wal-Mart also boosted its full-year guidance. Shares of the retailer were up 1.3%.

Home improvement retailer Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) posted a better-than-expected second-quarter profit that rose from a year earlier, but its sales missed forecasts. Home Depot shares gained 3.6%.

Shares of fertilizer producer Potash (POT) rose 28% after it rejected a $38 billion takeover offer by mining company BHP Billiton.

Pactiv (PTV), the maker of Hefty trash bags, gained more than 5% after agreeing to be acquired by Reynolds Group Holdings, which is a subsidiary of a New Zealand firm, for $6 billion.

General Motors is expected to file for an initial public offering of stock with U.S. securities regulators as early as Tuesday.

Economy: A wave of economic reports, including data on housing and inflation, showed mixed results before the bell.

A report from the Commerce Department showed that housing starts -- the number of new homes starting construction -- rose 1.7% to an annual rate of 546,000 in July. But permits fell 3.1% to an annual rate of 565,000.

Both of these tallies were less than expected. Economists were looking for housing starts to rise to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 555,000; building permits were expected to slip to a rate of 573,000.

The Producer Price Index, a measure of wholesale inflation, matched expectations by increasing 0.2% in July, after dropping 0.5% in June.

World markets: European shares finished higher. The CAC 40 in France gained 1.8%, Germany's DAX rose 1.6% and the FTSE 100 in Britain gained 1.4%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended the session with modest gains. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index, however, fell almost 0.4%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, but rose versus the U.K. pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil futures for September delivery rose 53 cents to settle at $75.77 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery increased $2.10 to settle at $1,228.30 an ounce.

Bonds: Prices for Treasurys were lower. The yield on the 10-year note rose to 2.64%, coming off a 17-month low of 2.58% late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. 

Tech stocks gain in choppy session

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 1.14 points, and the S&P 500 (SPX) rose just 0.13 point. But the tech-laden Nasdaq (COMP) composite climbed 8.39 points, or 0.4%.

Wall Street will be bracing for key reports on housing, building permits, prices and quarterly results from retail giants Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) and Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) Tuesday before the bell.

"The economic data hasn't been at its weakest levels, and I don't anticipate we're going to roll over, and crash and burn," said Phil Streible, a senior market strategist with Lind-Waldock. "But I think we're going to waffle around here until volume picks up again in September."

Companies: Curbing the Dow's losses, shares of Cisco Systems (CSCO, Fortune 500) rose 2.6%, and shares of Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) advanced 1.7% after acquisition announcements from Intel and Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) sparked excitement about other possible takeover deals in the tech sector.

Intel is buying Texas Instruments' cable modem product line, the company said Monday. It did not disclose the cost of the deal.

Meanwhile, Dell said it will acquire data-storage company 3PAR for $1.15 billion, a deal the company said could cut its data management costs by 50%. Shares of Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) fell 0.4% after the announcement, but 3PAR (PAR) rose 86%.

Lowe's (LOW, Fortune 500) stock edged 0.5% higher after the home improvement retailer posted higher fiscal second-quarter profit and revenue -- although the company missed forecasts and lowered its outlook.

Lowe's reported a profit of $832 million, or 58 cents per share, for the quarter ended July 30. That was below the 59 cents per share analysts were forecasting. But earnings rose 9.6% from $759 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier, thanks to cost-cutting measures.

World markets: While stocks in Asia ended mostly higher, Japan's benchmark Nikkei index slipped 0.6% following reports that Japan's economic growth slowed sharply to 0.4% in the second quarter -- putting China another step closer to becoming the world's second-largest economy.

Japan's gross domestic product totaled $1.29 trillion for the three months ending in June, while China's official figure for the same period was $1.34 trillion.

Economy: The Empire Manufacturing survey index jumped to 7.1 in August from 5.08 in July, showing growth in the New York region. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected a jump to 7.5.

A report from the National Association of Home Builders showed builder confidence for newly built single-family homes edged down for a third consecutive month in August. The NAHB's Housing Market Index declined one point to 13, its lowest level since March of 2009. Economists had expected the index to hold steady from July's 14 points.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil futures for September delivery slipped 15 cents to settle at $75.24 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $6.60 to settle at $1,226.20 an ounce.

Bonds: Prices for Treasurys rose. The yield on the 10-year note fell to a 17-month low of 2.58% from 2.68% late Friday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The 2-year yield hovered near its record intraday low of 0.48%.

Market breadth: Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers on a tight margin on volume of 789 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners two to one on volume of 1.6 billion shares. 

Stocks recoup losses after Fed

After falling as much as 147 points earlier in the session, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was off 53 points, or 0.5%, to close at 10,644.86, according to early tallies.

The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 7 points, or 0.6%, to end at 1,121.08, and the Nasdaq (COMP) dropped 29 points, or 1.2%, to close at 2,277.17.

As was widely expected, the central bank said it would leave short-term interest rates unchanged in a range between 0% and 0.25%. But the Fed gave its most bearish outlook in more than a year, saying the economic recovery is weakening.

The Fed also said it plans to reinvest its debt into longer-term Treasury securities. Economists had been anticipating the Fed would start unwinding its purchases by the end of this year.

"Investors had been concerned the Fed would do nothing, or it would name deflation as a risk," said Burt White, chief investment officer for LPL Financial.

Analysts at Robert W. Baird downgraded tech giant Intel's (INTC, Fortune 500) shares to "neutral" from "outperform." The research firm cited concerns about the overall tech sector, noting a "sharp deterioration in PC-related order trends over the past week, following a below-expectation July."

JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) analysts echoed this statement, saying in their own report that personal computer orders were "falling off a cliff." JPMorgan lowered its outlook on Intel but kept its rating at "neutral."

Intel shares closed 4% lower.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Fortune 500) also felt the crunch, after Barclays downgraded shares of the semiconductor maker to "equal weight" from "overweight." AMD shares plummeted to close 8% lower.

Economy: A report said business productivity unexpectedly fell by 0.9% in the second quarter, marking the first decline in 18 months. Economists expected an increase of 0.1%, according to Briefing.com.

A separate report showed wholesale inventories fell 0.7% in June. Economists expected an increase of 0.4% during the month, following a 0.5% hike in May.

Companies: BP (BP) said late Monday that it had made a $3 billion deposit into the $20 billion escrow account, from which the oil giant will pay for claims to those who suffered from the effects of the Gulf Coast oil spill. Shares of BP were down 1.8% to end the day.

After the bell, Walt Disney Co. (DIS, Fortune 500) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, led by rebounding sales at its television networks and movie studio divisions.

Disney said quarterly net income rose to $1.3 billion, or 67 cents per share, up 40% from a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thompson Reuters expected only 58 cents per share. Disney shares were up 1.5% in after-hours trade.

World markets: European markets closed lower. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6%, while France's CAC 40 dropped 1.2% and Germany's DAX posted a decline of 1%.

In Asia, Chinese shares led declines, following a report that showed Chinese imports slowed in July, increasing only 22.7% from a year earlier, compared to a 34.1% year-over-year jump the prior month.

The Shanghai Composite finished the session down 2.9%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.5% and Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained against the euro and U.K. pound, but was flat versus the Japanese yen.

Oil futures for September delivery fell $1.23 to settle at $80.25 a barrel.

Bonds: The yield on the 30-year bond fell below 4% and the yield on the 10-year note dropped to 2.77%. 

China property prices slow

Another DEATH at Foxconn plant

BEIJING

The 22-year-old woman, who died late on Wednesday, was an employee at a packaging department in Foxconn’s Kunshan plant in eastern Jiangsu province, it said.

The company said it is working with the local authorities to investigate the incident.

Foxconn, which assembles Apple’s iPhone and other well-known products, has seen a series of 13 suicides in its Chinese plants this year that has put the spotlight on conditions for millions of factory workers in the “workshop of the world”.

It was unclear whether the latest death was also suicide.

Labour rights activists have blamed suicides at Foxconn — the world’s largest maker of computer components and a supplier to leading brands such as Dell and Nokia — on tough working conditions in its factories.

— A woman worker at Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn died in eastern China after falling from a dormitory building, the company said on Friday.AFP

Stocks edge up as jobs picture comes into focus