MARKET FOCUS
U.S. stocks ended on a firm note on Wednesday, with wireless technology leader Qualcomm giving out rosy estimates for the current quarter.
Qualcomm raised its revenue and earnings outlook, based on an updated forecast for the production of 39 million chips for cellular phones. This offset the negative impact of a European court ruling against Microsoft in its anti-trust case brought forth by the EU.
Also, Research in Motion retreated after its top line fell short of the Street’s consensus. But the IT sector retained a strong tone, following Intel’s recommendation upgrade to “overweight” due to solid demand.
OUTLOOK
Markets seem to be getting on early with the “January effect,” a popular market term describing how small-cap stocks tend to outperform heavyweights in the New Year. Ahead of Christmas, U.S. markets will be closed on Friday.
THE NUMBERS
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 56 points, or 0.5 percent to 10,815. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 6 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,157, while the Nasdaq-100 index ended up 0.2 percent, to 1,613.
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