Record closes have been a familiar sight to Wall Street in 2014.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.31%) delivered again today, hitting the 17,138-point mark at the closing bell and posting its 15th record close of the year so far. Credit Intel (INTC +5.42%) for coming through for investors, as the semiconductor giant posted a shocking 9.2% jump today, fueled by an optimistic earnings report that had Wall Street dreaming of a turnaround for this stock. But perhaps the biggest climb of the day came from Time Warner (TWX +0.00%), which exploded for a 17% jump as acquisition talk swirled around the stock. Let's catch up on all the biggest market action of the day.
Intel's Z97 chipset. Source: Intel media gallery.
Intel heads higher, Boeing hits turbulence
Intel carried the Dow to its record run today, turning heads all across Wall Street as the tech company posted an 8% jump in revenue and a 40% climb in net profit year over year in the second quarter. The company's biggest winner? Look no further than Intel's PC Group, which posted a 6% gain in sales as analysts raised hopes for a turnaround in the company's future. Intel's highly dependent on the PC market for sales given the semiconductor maker's struggles in the mobile market, and an uptick in PC shipments this year has Wall Street thinking big.
Better still for investors, Intel projected third-quarter and full-year revenue ahead of analyst projections. Along with the company announcing that it plans to repurchase up to $4 billion in stock this quarter, Intel's moves have sparked hope that this stock can keep up its 22% year-to-date run. Intel investors need to keep a close eye on the PC market's movements in the rest of the year, particularly as businesses finish upgrading from Windows XP, but for now, Intel's second quarter is a breath of fresh air.
Not all of the Dow had such a rosy day on Wall Street, however, as Boeing (BA 0.72%) took a big hit, tumbling 1.3% to rank among the index's biggest losers on the day. All eyes in aviation are on the ongoing Farnborough Air Show, where Boeing's been busy snapping up new orders for its thriving commercial aerospace segment. The company reportedly is in talks with Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines for a deal of 50 737 MAX 8 planes, and Boeing's pushing its 787 hard at Farnborough as well.
However, rival Airbus has made the most news at Farnborough so far, notching $21 billion worth of orders on the very first day of the show and outpacing Boeing so far. Airbus fell behind its American competitor through 2014's first half, with the European aviation giant's 290 net aircraft orders trailing Boeing's 499 orders. Farnborough's a spark of hope for Airbus investors, and expect the competition to keep up between these two industry giants throughout the show.
The biggest market-shaking news, however, came off the Dow today. Time Warner's stock ripped off a massive run after reports emerged that the company spurned an $80 billion offer from Rupert Murdoch and 21st Century Fox (FOX +0.00%). Fox's stock plunged 4.6% after the news came to light, but don't expect the company to give up on its ambitions so quickly. Time Warner and Fox boast a combined revenue of $65 billion, according to The New York Times, and the massive merger would put Fox in contention for leadership in the media and entertainment industry.
Time Warner, for its sake, believes that its own long-term plan will result in "significantly more value," but sources cited by Bloomberg say that Fox could push to bid more for its media rival. Expect much more to come from this potential industry-shaking fight in the near future.
