NEW YORK - Wall Street reversed earlier losses and rallied Tuesday after IBM approved a $15 billion stock buyback, suggesting to investors that there are still some companies out there with financial muscle. The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 110 points.
IBM buyback bolsters Dow
February 27, 2008 at 4:37AM
IBM Corp., one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow, said the buyback will boost its earnings for 2008 past Wall Street's prior forecasts. Shares of Big Blue vaulted $4.30, or 3.9 percent, to $114.38.
The buyback news followed two dismal economic reports showing that core wholesale prices shot up more than expected last month and that consumer confidence is waning. The data reinforced worries that the United States is suffering from stagflation, a state when the economy weakens amid rising costs.
"The market is kind of overcoming negative news, which is potentially a next step toward higher prices," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "At least in the short-term, it's a nice change here."
Tuesday's advance extended a rally that began Monday when Standard & Poor's affirmed the "AAA" ratings for troubled bond insurers Ambac Financial Group Inc. and MBIA Inc. MBIA, which on Tuesday said it would eliminate its quarterly dividend, was also affirmed by Moody's Investors Service.
The Dow rose 114.70, or 0.91 percent, to 12,684.92, after declining in earlier trading.
Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.49, or 0.69 percent, to 1,381.29, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 17.51, or 0.75 percent, to 2,344.99.
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