Stocks bounced higher today, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.32%) is up 110 points with about an hour left in the trading session. Investors took in some good news when the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of U.S. jobs increased by 204,000 in October. That's much higher than the expected gain of 120,000, as private-sector growth was strong. Despite the good news on the jobs front, the Thomson-Reuters/University of Michigan early November Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 72 -- the lowest reading in almost two years. With the strong jobs report in mind, here's a glimpse at a couple of stocks making headlines today.
Inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Boeing (BA -1.51%) investors are shrugging off the negative comments from its Machinists union, and the stock is trading 1.4% higher. Boeing is deciding where to build its 777X aircraft, but so far the Machinists union has been overwhelmingly against Boeing's proposal, and tensions are mounting. Bringing the manufacturing to Seattle would secure thousands of jobs in the area, and politicians are scrambling to set up an incentive package worth as much as $8 billion in tax savings in order to ink the deal with Boeing.
Sales of Ford's Fusion Energi surged in October. Photo Credit: Ford.
Outside the Dow, Ford (F -1.15%) is up 1.5% as it continues to improve sales of its plug-in hybrid vehicles, snatching market share from competitors. Ford's C-MAX Energi and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids delivered their best sales month ever in October, Ford announced this week. Sales of the two models shattered the previous monthly record by 45%, driven by a strong performance in California that accounts for nearly 38% of its sales. In the 13 months that Ford has been selling its plug-in hybrids, it has managed to capture 34% of the market share -- a pretty quick and impressive feat. Though the plug-in hybrid segment is increasing sales quickly, up 32% in October, it still only accounted for 39,000 vehicles sold in October.
Revolution Lighting Technologies (RVLT), a leader in advanced LED lighting technology, is soaring 22% higher today after reporting its quarterly earnings. For the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2013, the company reported total revenue of $5.3 million compared to $1.3 million over the same time period last year -- a whopping 308% increase. Gross profit for the quarter was $1.4 million compared to $0.3 million last year, bringing gross margins up to 26%.
"We continued to broaden our product portfolio and strengthened our distribution network, as well as our engineering and management capabilities through the acquisitions of Relume Technologies and a portfolio of LED products from CMG Energy Solutions." said Robert V. LaPenta, chairman and chief executive officer of Revolution Lighting Technologies, in a press release. "With a robust pipeline in place and increased LED adoption across commercial, industrial and municipal markets, we are poised for growth in 2014 and beyond."
