In the rally that we've seen so far in January, the recovering economy has played a central role in supporting investors in their buying of stocks. So, when much worse-than-expected GDP figures this morning were followed by dour projections of future conditions by the Federal Reserve, the stock market eventually gave up its attempt to eke out gains and, instead, dropped in the late afternoon. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrials (^DJI 1.18%) had fallen 44 points, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both down by similar percentages.
Some stocks fought the Fed and won, though. Within the Dow, Boeing (BA 0.53%) rose more than 1.25%, after releasing better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. Despite a strong 14% gain in revenue, Boeing's future is arguably at risk as it faces the confidence-threat of its grounded 787 Dreamliner. CEO Jim McNerney understands what's at stake, though, noting that the company is continuing with production, and that Boeing has confidence in its future.
Elsewhere, Dolby Labs (DLB 2.97%) gained 1.7% after topping estimates in its quarterly report. Yet, the entertainment sound specialist gave some mixed projections for its future performance, predicting current-quarter sales and earnings in a range below where analysts had thought, but with full fiscal-year 2013 revenue projected in a range that allows for substantial upside to current analyst estimates. The key for Dolby will be whether it can capitalize on mobile technology the same way it has with physical CD and DVD players.
Finally, KB Home (KBH 4.04%) rose 1.3%, after being up much more sharply earlier in the session. The company yesterday completed an offering of stock and convertible notes to raise more than $300 million, up from its originally-projected $250 million. With the company expected to make land acquisitions for further development, the move is just the latest sign that the housing market has rebounded convincingly.
