Stocks Finish Higher after Durable-Goods Jump

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23, which were seen rising to 435,000 from 432,000 the previous week.

The SEC floated a plan that could require U.S. companies to switch to international accounting rules, starting in 2014, and permit others to make the switch even sooner, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The SEC voted unanimously to seek public comment for 60 days on a "road map" to move from U.S. to international accounting. The plan calls for early, voluntary use of international accounting standards by large U.S. multinational firms in 2010, followed by an SEC vote in 2011 on whether to require all U.S. companies to make the switch. The decision would rest on whether key changes occur by then, including international accounting standard-setters obtaining independent funding.

October West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were up $1.39 to $117.59 per barrel amid indications Tropical Storm Gustav was aiming for oil rigs and pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. A weekly Energy Dept. report showed little change in U.S. inventories.

Among Wednesday’s other stocks in the news, J.Crew Group (JCG) posted second quarter EPS of 28 cents, vs. 32 cents one year earlier, on slightly lower same-store sales and a narrowed gross margin. Total revenue rose 10%. The company cut its $1.70-$1.75 fiscal 2009 EPS guidance to $1.44-$1.54, and sees third quarter EPS of 28 cents to 33 cents.

SI International (SINT) agreed to be acquired by Serco Group in a $423 million deal. Terms: $32 cash per SI share.

Pfizer (PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) report that an early evaluation of results from a Phase III study of apixaban for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients undergoing total knee replacement indicates that the primary endpoint of this study was not met. The companies are considering further studies with different protocols in preventing VTE in knee surgery and will not submit the U.S. filing for VTE prevention in the second half of 2009, as previously communicated.

CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) said its first-half oil and gas sales increased 64% from last year, and net profit was up 89% to 27.54 billion yuan.

Solarfun Power Holdings (SOLF) entered into a letter-of-intent for a three-year supply agreement with Q-Cells International. Q-Cells intends to purchase from Solarfun a minimum of 100 megawatts of photovoltaic (PV) modules per annum using PV cells supplied by Q-Cells from 2009 through 2011.

Hain Celestial Group (HAIN) posted fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of 34 cents, vs. 25 cents one year earlier on a 25% sales rise. The company sees fiscal 2009 sales of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion and EPS of $1.54 to $1.61.

Major European stock indexes ended mixed Wednesday. In London, the FTSE 100 index was up 1.05% to 5,528.10. In France, the CAC 40 index rose 0.1% to 4,373.08. Germany's DAX index shed 0.31% to 6,321.03.

Asian markets finished mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2% to 12,752.96. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 1.94% to 21,464.72.

Treasury market

Treasury yields were flat to mixed. The 10-year yield was little changed at 3.77%, after moving up to 3.83% after the durable goods data. The market continues to reflect expectations for a steady policy stance through the rest of the year, with only about a 25% risk of a hike, according to Action Economics.