Stocks Stage a Late-Day Rally

Updated from 2:38 p.m. EDT

Stocks in New York finished a hesitant session with a sharp turn to the upside as the financials rallied late in the day Tuesday. The markets were further buoyed as technology stocks recovered from early losses and crude-oil prices declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 135.16 points, or 1.2%, at 11,602.50, and the S&P 500 rose 17 points, or 1.4%, to 1277. The Nasdaq finished up 24.43 points, or 1.1%, at 2303.96.

After Monday's close, Apple (AAPL)delivered third-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations, but it guided below the targets for the current quarter. Shares fell 10% on the news, but finished the session down 2.6% at $162.02.

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Texas Instruments (TXN), which missed on profits and provided a disappointing outlook, represented another technology flop, and its shares sank 14% to $24.44.

Investors had been anticipating that relief from the government stimulus package and action by the Federal Reserve would prop up cyclical and technology companies, said Matthew Smith, vice president and portfolio manager for Smith Affiliated Capital. "That just hasn't transpired."

"If you take technology, it's a pulse of the market going forward. It's basically suggesting that you're still in the early stages of a recession," said Smith.

Putting pressure on both financials and the Dow was credit card company American Express (AXP), which fell short of estimates and offered cautious guidance for 2008. Its stock ended down 7.1% to $37.99.

Fellow Dow member Merck (MRK) delivered an earnings beat, but didn't offer forward projections after discouraging test results emerged for the cholesterol drug Vytorin, a joint venture between Merck and Schering-Plough (SGP). Merck shares stumbled 11% to finish at $31.33. Schering-Plough fell early, but finished the day 5.1% higher at $19.91.

As the new day dawned, several more companies reported quarterly results. In financial services, Wachovia (WB) dropped an $8.9 billion second-quarter loss on shareholders, missing estimates. The bank also said it would be cutting 6,350 jobs, reducing its dividend and abandoning its wholesale mortgage business. After a sharp morning selloff, shares closed up 27% at $16.79 after the company said it was not planning to raise new capital through a share offering.

Despite also showing credit-related pain in their earnings statements, regional banks Fifth Third (FITB) and SunTrust (STI) were trading higher, as well. Fifth Third added 12% to $14.95, and SunTrust gained 16% to $39.66.

Money-transfer company Western Union (WU) also rose after posting an increase in profits and raising forward estimates. Shares climbed 8.6% to $27.23.

Bond insurer Assured Guaranty (AGO) didn't fare so well, falling 40% to close at $11.32 after Moody's announced it may downgrade the company's triple-A credit rating.

"You're in a bear-market rally now," Smith said. He said that recent consolidation after last week's rally probably will be followed by another leg down.

Of the broader turmoil in the sector, Smith said there's a distinction must be made between large-cap banks and the regionals, which some investors believe aren't as capable of dealing with the ongoing financial crisis as their bigger counterparts.

Speaking in Washington, D.C., on the state of the financial markets, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said mortgage companies Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) are crucial to the effort to recover from credit crunch-related woes. He also said he was confident that Congress would approve his relief plan for the shaky government-sponsored entities.

Earlier, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight had said that Fannie and Freddie will have to write down more assets thanks to their exposure to subprime and alt-A mortgages. Fannie lost 5.1% to $13.41, and Freddie gained 11% to $9.70.

Also out were statements from industrial leaders and Dow stocks Caterpillar (CAT) and DuPont (DD), both of which exceeded expectations. Caterpillar shares crawled up 2.4% to $74.98, and DuPont tacked on 2.6% to $45.21.

Meanwhile, shipping firm UPS (UPS) fell short of analyst estimates, and airlines UAL (UAUA) and US Airways (LCC) delivered losses. All three firms have been hampered by rising fuel costs.

UAL said its airline, United, had extended an agreement with partners Chase Bank and Paymentech that would enhance its liquidity level by about $1.2 billion. Shares of the company skyrocketed 69% to $8.41. US Airways marked similar gains, up 59% at $4.27, and UPS was also trading higher, finishing 4.5% higher at $62.11.

On the other side of the energy boom, Baker Hughes (BHI) trumped forecasts, while fellow energy-patch denizen Halliburton (HAL) delivered in-line earnings on record revenue and offered a rosy outlook. XTO (XTO) likewise exceeded expectations. Baker Hughes rose 2.5% to $86.50, but Halliburton fell 5.3% to $46.30 and XTO lost 8.4% to $53.11 as oil prices declined.

Wireless telecom Vodafone (VOD) slumped 14% to $25.54 after it met earnings expectations but warned that revenue would be weak because of the slowing economy.

UnitedHealth (UNH) reported a 73% year-over-year decline in second-quarter income. Excluding charges, however, the company topped analyst estimates. Shares rose 10% to $26.21.

In commodities, crude oil slipped $3.09 to settle at $127.95 a barrel, and gold fell $15.70 to close at $948. Hurricane Dolly, which was causing concerns of supply disruptions off the Gulf Coast Monday, looked as though its path would cut just south of the majority of the drilling area.

Of the broader economy, Bloomberg reported this morning that economists at Merrill Lynch reduced their forecasts for U.S. growth. The new figures, described as "adjusting for the new reality," foretell growth of 0.5% in 2009, down from a previous look of 1.5% growth.

The home price index from the Office of Federal Housing and Oversight slipped 0.3% in May vs. April. Prices fell 4.8% year over year for May. The figures were better than expectations for a 0.8% decline.

Meanwhile, Charles Plosser, president of the Philadelphia Fed, said in a speech this morning that the central bank should reverse its rate-cutting ways, for the moment sparking a reversal in the bond market.

As for Treasuries, the 10-year note was slipping 16/32 to yield 4.1%, and the 30-year was down 22/32, yielding 4.67%. The dollar was rising slightly against the euro, the pound and the yen.

Overseas markets were mixed, with London's FTSE slipping and Frankfurt's DAX climbing. The Nikkei in Japan rose, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down fractionally.

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