Stocks Climb on Earnings, GE News

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Cigna (CI) posted $1.14 vs. $1.07 second-quarter adjusted operating EPS despite a 7.7% revenue drop.

Travelers Cos. (TRV) posted $1.25 vs. $1.50 second-quarter operating EPS on a 2.1% revenue drop.

Motorola (MOT) posted $0.01 (including a $0.02 gain) second-quarter GAAP EPS from continuing operations vs. breakeven results despite a 31% revenue drop. Wall Street was looking for a loss of $0.04.

Dow Chemical (DOW) posted a $0.47 second-quarter loss vs. $0.81 EPS on a 31% revenue decline. The company posted $0.05 second-quarter EPS, excluding items. Wall Street was looking for a loss of $0.08. Separately, Dow and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) inked a deal for a Dow unit to sell its entire shares of ownership in the Optiml Group of Companies to PETRONAS for $660 million.

Goldman Sachs reportedly upgraded its rating on shares of GE to buy from neutral amid speculation that the conglomerate would not be forced to split off its GE capital unit after comments from Rep. Barney Frank.

Citigroup (C) reached a deal to sell its entire ownership interest in Nikko Asset Management to The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. as part of a transaction that values Nikko at $1.26 billion. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar 2009.

In economic news Thursday, U.S. jobless claims rose 25,000 to 584,000 in the week ended July 25, up from 559,000 last week and worst than the 560,000 expected by markets. Continuing claims fell 54,000 to 6,197,000 in the week ended July 18, from a downwardly revised 6,251,000 reading the prior week (was 6,225,000). The insured unemployment rate held at 4.7%. Auto tooling distortions and the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies distort the data, notes S&P Economics.

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