Dow Chemical beats estimates, says economy has found a bottom

Dow Chemical (DOW) shares soared over 10 percent in morning trading after the chemical giant crushed Wall Street's estimates on an adjusted basis. While Dow posted a second-quarter loss, it was mostly driven by charges related to the acquisition of rival Rohm & Haas. Of course, sales in the current global recession were nothing to write home about.

Dow said it lost $486 million, or 47 cents per share, compared with earnings of $762 million, or 81 cents per share during the same period last year. But the quarterly results -- the first to include financial performance data from Rohm & Haas -- also included $957 million in different charges related to the acquisition and to the ongoing restructuring, among others. Excluding one-time items, Dow reported adjusted earnings of 5 cents per share. This was well ahead of estimates for a loss of 8 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.