The stock market has followed a fairly consistent path lately, rising to new five-year highs and then taking a breather before making its next advance. This morning, a minor revision to GDP figures that boosted a previous reading of negative growth to a 0.1% gain, combined with falling jobless claims, continued a string of positive economic news. With uncertainty from Europe and the sequestration debate weighing on markets, though, it's reasonable to see the Dow Jones Industrials (^DJI -0.98%) merely holding its own after yesterday's 175-point advance. As 10:50 a.m. EST, the Dow is down 19 points, while broader markets are near breakeven as well.
Among Dow stocks, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 0.11%) briefly touched the $20 mark for the first time since last summer before pulling back slightly to post a 0.8% gain. The move appeared to be follow-through from yesterday's nearly 4% advance after the company confirmed that it would release future tablets using the Android operating system. HP is doing its best to broaden its product offerings and decrease its reliance on PC-era technology, which has seen declining favor among consumers.
Continental Resources (CLR) jumped 4.6% after announcing favorable earnings for its fourth quarter. As a leading energy company in the red-hot Bakken shale play, Continental reversed a year-ago loss in the quarter and boosted overall 2012 full-year income by 72% over 2011. With record production expected to increase further in 2013, Continental is making all the right moves.
Finally, organic-LED maker Universal Display (OLED 0.09%) rose 11% following its earnings release last night. Results were mixed, with the company missing earnings estimates but topping the revenue consensus. Although Universal Display's guidance for 2013 revenue was slightly disappointing, investors seem to be focusing more on the potential for new-product development using OLED technology, which could eventually lead to a big surge in growth for the small company.
