Stock market today, Feb. 7: Today (Friday), U.S. stocks closed in positive territory for a second consecutive session after the January jobs report revealed a declining unemployment rate.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.06%, or 165.55 points at 15,794.08 points; the S&P 500 closed up 1.33%%, or 23.6 points at 1,797.02, and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 1.68%, or 68.7 points at 4,125.86.
Crude oil futures and heating oil futures enjoyed a strong rally - crude oil for March delivery closed up 2.09% at $99.88 per barrel, and heating oil futures for March delivery closed up 1.50% at $3.04 per gallon. Meanwhile, natural gas prices plummeted, closing down 2.05% at $4.83 per million BUTs.
Metals rose across the board. Gold for April delivery closed up 0.45% at $1,262.90 per ounce, silver closed up 0.04% at $19.94 per ounce, and platinum closed up 0.31% at $1,379.20 per ounce.
Stock Market Today: Expedia, Apple Boost Technology Sector
The Nasdaq's technology sector is markedly higher after Apple (Nasdaq: APPL) reported a $14 billion repurchase program. AAPL stock traded up about 2% for much of Friday's session.
Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) reported positive fourth-quarter results, also contributing to today's Nasdaq climb.
Expedia's Q4 earnings came in at $0.92 per share, up from $0.63 per share a year prior and topping the Street's expectations of $0.86 per share. It reported revenue of $1.15 billion, up from $974.9 million a year ago and also topping expectations of $1.13 billion.
EXPE shares traded up a solid 15% for most of Friday's session, marking an all-time high of $75.45.
Finally, Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) stock was up more than 14% today, hitting a 52-week high of $19.95, after reporting fourth-quarter earnings after market close on Thursday.
Activision's Q4 saw earnings of $0.79 per share, up from $0.78 per share a year prior and beating analysts' consensus for $0.73 per share. Revenues were $2.27 billion, slightly higher than analysts' prediction of $2.2 billion.
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Stock Market Today: athenahealth Boosts Healthcare Sector
athenahealth (Nasdaq: ATHN) traded up about 26% this session, marking a record high at $177.79.
The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $0.57 per share, up from $0.29 a year prior, and above the Street's view of $0.44 per share. It reported revenue of $171.6 million, up 48% from $116.3 million a year prior and above analysts' expectations of $168.62 million.
Stock Market Today: Bebe, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Boost Consumer Sector
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (Nasdaq: GMCR) shares were up about 6% this session, giving the stock a roughly 37% gain on the week after its deal with The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) and impressive first-quarter results. Green Mountain said it will dispense Coca-Cola products through its upcoming cold beverage dispenser.
And Bebe (Nasdaq: BEBE) shares were up about 15% after it reported a smaller second-quarter loss than analysts expected - a $0.07 per share loss versus a projected $0.14 per share loss.
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