The major indices climb to session highs, thanks to mostly broad-based
buying interest. The Dow and S&P 500 are posting slight gains, and
the Nasdaq is up nearly 1%.
Despite the -0.5% drop in crude prices, the energy sector is up 1.2%,
which is helping to offset the financial sector's decline of 1.0%.
The majority of this session's biggest percent losers are related to
earnings reports. Freddie Mac (FRE 6.71, -1.33) is posting the largest
decline of 16.5% in response to its large $821 million second quarter
loss, and Fannie Mae (FNM 11.93, -1.67) is down 12.2% in conjunction
with the news. Whole Foods (WFMI 19.94, -2.98) plummeted 13% after the
company posted 23% year-over-year drop in earnings per share and
suspended its dividend.
Sprint (S 7.45, -1.10), Dean Food (DF 21.89, -1.44) and News Corp
(NWS.A 14.27, -0.98) are also among the session's big percent losers in
response to their respective earnings reports.