U.S. Stocks 0pen Higher, on Track for Second Week of Gains

By REUTERS August 15, 2014

Major indexes were on track Friday for a second week of gains, as traders bet there would be no immediate escalation in the tense situations in Ukraine or Iraq.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.36 percent and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was up 0.25 percent. The Nasdaq composite index gained 0.53 percent.

Recent trading has taken its cue from news overseas, with investors concerned about the potential impact of any exacerbation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, or in violence in Iraq.

Ukrainian border guards crossed the frontier to inspect a huge Russian aid convoy, which some had speculated could be a cover for a military invasion. The inspection comes a day after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, struck a softer tone in comments regarding Ukraine.

In Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki stepped down as prime minister, paving the way for a new coalition that world and regional powers hope will be able to quash a Sunni Islamist insurgency that threatens Baghdad.

For the week, the Dow is up 1 percent, the S.&P. is up 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq is up 1.9 percent.

The benchmark S.&P. index is 1.7 percent off a closing record hit late July. In a sign of the market's long-term strength, it has been more than 1,000 days since the index's last correction, which Wall Street defines as a drop of 10 percent from the most recent high.

Applied Materials late Thursday reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations, bolstered by demand for DRAM chips. It also forecast adjusted current-quarter profits that were largely above estimates.

Monster Beverage jumped 21 percent to $87 in premarket trading after the Coca-Cola Company said it was buying a 16.7 percent stake in it for $2.15 billion.

JD.com fell 6.7 percent to $28 in premarket trading after the company reported a wider second-quarter loss than a year earlier, even as revenue jumped 64 percent.

And Berkshire Hathaway, controlled by Warren Buffett, disclosed a new $366 million stake in Charter Communications, part of a flurry of changes in its stock investments during the second quarter. It also trimmed its stake in DirecTV and is no longer reporting any stake in Starz.

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