Stocks in Higher Trading

Stocks were trading higher on Thursday, in a whipsaw session after several brokerage upgrades on microchip makers sent the semiconductor sector to a one-year high.

The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index (.SOXX) jumped 2.7 percent, climbing to its highest since May 2006, after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD.N) to "buy," and Lehman Brothers lifted Nvidia Corp. (NVDA.O) to "overweight."

"The SOXX has taken out its May '07 high, so that's been a big plus for the Nasdaq in the last couple of hours," said Elliot Spar, market strategist with Ryan Beck & Co. in New York.

"On a negative note, the internals leave a lot to be desired. Unless we see a marked improvement in breadth, there is not much room to the upside for today because of the lack of support," Spar said, noting that decliners were still outnumbering advancers on the Nasdaq.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was up 54.06 points, or 0.40 percent, at 13,543.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was up 8.36 points, or 0.55 percent, at 1,521.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 14.82 points, or 0.57 percent, at 2,614.78.

Nvidia shares shot up 6.5 percent to $42.45 and ranked among the leading stocks boosting the Nasdaq. Advanced Micro shares jumped 5.7 percent to $14.41 on the NYSE.

Energy stocks were up sharply after crude futures steadied following Wednesday's sell-off. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N) rose 1.9 percent to $84.43 on the NYSE. Chevron Corp. (CVX.N) advanced 2.1 percent to $82.66.

Financial stocks were lagging as the uncertain fate of two Bear Stearns Cos. (BSC.N) hedge funds stoked concerns that investment banks may face large losses from subprime mortgages as the funds are heavily invested in the riskiest segment of U.S. home loans.

Among financial shares, Merrill Lynch's (MER.N) stock lost 1.1 percent to $86.72, while Lehman Brothers (LEH.N) fell 1.1 percent to $79.00.

Shares of H&R Block Inc. (HRB.N), which is selling its money-losing subprime mortgage unit to buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management, fell 2.8 percent to $22.15 after the company said the unit's net asset value fell to $1.1 billion.

Shares of Starbucks Corp. (SBUX.O) dropped 3.3 percent to $26.42 on Nasdaq, as its chief financial officer said he sees the possibility of notching earnings at the upper end of the company's outlook as "challenging."

In deal news, U.S. sunglasses maker Oakley Inc.'s (OO.N) stock soared 12.6 percent to $28.40 after Italy's Luxottica (LUX.MI) (LUX.N), the world's biggest eyewear maker, agreed to buy the company in an all-cash deal worth about $2.1 billion.

source:www.wistv.com