Russell 2000 shoots up
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) has gained more than 2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) is also up on good news from the housing sector and upbeat earnings from major players.
At 10:29 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had added 20.67 points, or 2.67%, to 794.80. The Dow was up 84.62 points, or 0.63%, to 13,588.92.
More Americans are taking out loans to buy homes, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The Washington, D.C.-based trade group reported before the opening that its index measuring mortgage loan application volume increased 8.1% to a seasonally adjusted level of 656.5 for the week ended August 3, from 607.1 the previous week.
That’s a sign that Americans are willing to take out mortgages to purchase a home despite the tighter lending rules that have followed the slump in the U.S. housing sector and the subprime meltdown.
In earnings news, Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), the world's largest maker of computer-networking equipment, reported that fiscal fourth-quarter profit increased 25% and raised its sales forecast for fiscal 2008 on demand for high-speed Internet gear and Web-based phone systems.
Over at Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S), the picture was cloudier but still gave cause for optimism. The Reston, Va.-based company announced a third-quarter profit of $19 million, or $0.01 per share, compared with $370 million, or $0.10 per share, a year ago. However, excluding items and amortization, earnings were $0.25 per share, which beats analysts’ average projected profit of $0.22 per share. The wireless provider also reported that its subscriber base rose by nearly 400,000 to 54 million, an increase of 5% from a year ago.
