Surge in Wal-Mart, Cisco shares would add 50 points to the Dow
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. will give the Dow Jones Industrial Average's a big boost Thursday, but not quite enough to halt the recent slide. Wal-Mart's stock shot up $5.80, or 9.2%, in recent premarket trade after the world's largest retailer fiscal first-quarter results and current-quarter outlook were above expectations, which puts it on track to post the biggest one-day percentage gain since October 2008. That price gain would add about 40 points to the Dow, which is a price-weighted index. Cisco's shares climbed $1.44, or 5.4%, ahead of the open, which would add about 10 points to the Dow, after the networking giant beat profit expectations and provided an upbeat outlook. Despite the combined 50-point boost from Wal-Mart and Cisco, Dow futures were still down 27 points, after the Dow fell 184 points the past two sessions.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.