Stocks opened sharply higher Thursday and stayed there through the close. In addition to a pair of encouraging blue chip earnings reports, investors also cheered an upbeat retail sales report, which helped quiet recession chatter.
Starting with the earnings calendar. Cisco Systems (CSCO) was the best Dow Jones stocks today, gaining 6.8% after the networking equipment specialist reported higher-than-expected earnings and revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter. Cisco also announced layoffs – its second round of job cuts this year.
