4:25 PM, Aug 2, 2010 -- NYSE up 175.6 (+2.4%) to 7,174.98 DJIA up 208 (+1.99%) to 10,674 S&P 500 up 24.6 (+2.2%) to 1,126 Nasdaq up 40.66 (+1.8%) to 2,295 GLOBAL SENTIMENT Hang Seng up 1.8% Nikkei up 0.35% FTSE up 2.7% UPSIDE MOVERS (+) HBC gains on better-than-expected earnings. (+) BAC gains as Barron's piece says shares could gain on economic improvement, dividends. (+) MGM gains on new credit facility. (+) MNKD reports smaller-than-expected loss. (+) BNVI reports positive study results. (+) MGIC results improve from year-ago period. (+) DIS gains as analyst raises price target. (+) TEVA gets Canadian acquisition approval. (+) ETRMD gets conditional OK for device. (+) F reports sale of Volvo to Geely. (+) KO upgraded. (+) MET selling shares. DOWNSIDE MOVERS (-) V falling on mobile payment system developments. (-) MA falling on mobile payment system developments. (-) ARNA downgraded. (-) RIMM down as weekend report says UAE to block services. (-) SJM downgraded by Jefferies. MARKET DIRECTION Stock averages end up 2%, their highest finish in 10 weeks. Hope for a resilient, if stressed, global recovery has lifted major global stock averages, including in the U.S. Crude oil gains lifted energy stocks, and other commodity-linked stocks gained. Better-than-expected European bank earnings pushed up U.S. financial stocks. Wall Street responded to positive manufacturing and construction data released earlier in the morning, which came on top of positive banking news out of Europe and offset mixed economic news out of China. The manufacturing sector grew in July, the Institute for Supply Management said. Although its manufacturing index slipped to 55.5 in July from 56.2 in June, it remained above 50, the dividing reading between growth and contraction, for the 15th straight month. Adding to the upbeat news, the Commerce Department reported that construction spending rose 0.1% in June, driven almost entirely by government spending. Private housing and nonresidential projects fell. The reading has ranged between 60.4 and 32.5 during the recession. Earlier, the HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, compiled by Markit, showed a drop to 49.4 in July from 50.4 in June -- falling below the 50-point line that separates expansion from contraction. Chinese stocks gained as some investors viewed cooler economic data as justification for steady monetary policy. Crude futures made a strong advance--along with most other commodities--as equities rose on broad investor optimism. Gold also closed with gains, overcoming early weakness. September crude closed up $2.39, or 3% at $81.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In other energy futures, heating oil was up $0.07 to $2.16 a gallon while natural gas fell $0.21, to $4.70 per million British thermal units. Gold for December delivery closed up 0.1% to $1,185.40 an ounce. In other metal futures, silver rose 2.3% to $18.42 a troy ounce while copper rose $0.08 to $3.39 a pound. In company news, shares of BP Plc (BP) gained as the petroleum company begins the process of plugging the leaking Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico this week, reports Bloomberg. The company will plug the well by injecting mud into it, the report said. The process of plugging the well will take place late tonight or tomorrow, the report said. Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) are both lower following reports over the weekend that AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless (VZ) are planning a partnership to displace credit and debit cards. The system will allow consumers to pay with a contactless wave of a smartphone, according to a Reuters report. Corinthian Colleges (COCO) is up after the company says in a SEC filing its Board approved a stock buyback program of up to $200 million. Ford Motor Co. (F) shares are higher after Standard & Poor's raised its rating on the company's shares to B-plus and said there is at least a one in three chance the firm will raise its ratings on the company again in the next 12 months, reports Reuters. Earlier, the company announced it has completed the sale of Volvo Car Corporation and related assets to the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company Limited. ADRs of Novo Nordisk (NVO) were higher as the company said it had converted a debt it was to receive from Aradigm Corp. into a 16% stake in the biotechnology company, Reuters reported. Novo Nordisk converted a $9.1 million debt into 26 million Aradigm shares for $0.35 per share, the report said. Research in Motion (RIMM) shares are lower as the United Arab Emirates had threatened to suspend service for the BlackBerry smartphone device due to security concerns, Reuters reported. Authorities had voice demands on RIM for access to encrypted messages sent over the devices, the report said. Earlier, MetLife (MET) lowered its outlook of how much of a bump it will get from acquiring Alico, according to a Reuters report. The U.S. life insurer said it now sees operating earnings for the year growing by $0.40 to $0.45, down from previous estimates of $0.45, to $0.55 a share. Results from earnings before the open were mixed. Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) says Q2 sales were $255.6 million, more than the Thomson Reuters mean for $239.2 million. Adjusted EPS were $0.69, better than forecasts for $0.63. It sees FY adjusted EPS between $2.80 - $3.05 in 2010, up from prior guidance of $2.65 to $2.90. The Thomson Reuters mean is for $2.77 per share. Charles River (CRL) is down after the company says Q2 adjusted EPS were $0.49, a penny below the Thomson Reuters mean. Sales were $292.1 million, down 5% from a year ago. Oshkosh (OSK) reported Q3 earnings of $2.31 per share, up from a prior year loss of $0.28 per share and ahead of the analyst mean of $1.92 per share on Thomson Reuters. Humana (HUM) reported second quarter EPS of $2 compared to $1.67 a year earlier and topping the Thomson Reuters mean analyst estimate for $1.67.

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