Stocks continued to climb even in light of an interest rate hike in China. The country raised rates to battle inflation. But traders here said the move by China's central bank was expected and so no major surprises there.
Investors instead derived optimism today from McDonalds (NYSE:MCD). The big burger and fries chain surprised analysts with more customers around the world than they expected, for the month of January. Shares of McDonalds were up 3% on the news.
Mergers and acquisitions continued to fuel the markets. Today it was Kindred Healthcare (KND) agreeing to acquire Rehabcare (RHB). Both stocks were up sharply on the news.
And a report out from the National Federation of Independent Businesses revealed that small companies in the US were modestly more confident in January. According to Bloomberg, small American companies provide 65% of all jobs here. The report said manufacturing and exporting are leading the recovery but that construction remains depressed.
There were a few companies with disappointing quarterly profits - among them Teva Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:TEVA) and Avon (AVP). Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) said it's quarterly revenues were down 14% over last year. Those shares dropped more than 10% today.
As we approach the closing bell, all three major indexes are posting gains for the session.
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