The Dow Ignores the Apple Panic
While nearly everyone on Wall Street is panicking about Apple's earnings, the rest of the market isn't having too bad of a day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 30 points as of 2:15 p.m. EST after rising to gains of about 100 points earlier in the day. Despite the tech sector's hit today, there are plenty of good stocks doing well that you don't have to pull your hair out over. Most of the Dow's members are in the green, with plenty of good news on a day seemingly devoid of positivity.
No panicking on the Dow
Admittedly, Apple is making things tough on tech stocks. Both Hewlett-Packard and Intel have followed the Nasdaq down today, with shares losing 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively. It's the latest round of investors losing confidence over a temporary blip. And while HP and Intel have long-term struggles in the declining PC market that should challenge them, don't worry too much about Apple's effect on these stocks today -- particularly since Apple's numbers weren't even all that worrying.
Turning to some actual good news, shares of Pfizer are up 1.3% so far after the pharmaceutical giant reported strong results from drug studies. Smoking-cessation drug Chantix, extended-release depression therapy drug Pristiq, and urinary incontinence medication Toviaz all showed good signs for the company going forward in clinical studies. Pfizer's still making up ground after losing blockbuster cholesterol-fighting drug Lipitor's patent protection last year. Finding success among these three drugs and others in its pipeline will go a long way toward recouping some of Lipitor's losses.
Cisco has also pulled in strong gains today, leading the Dow with shares up 1.7%. The firm recently acquired Israeli software company Intucell, part of a recent spree of buying to diversify its business. Something's clearly working at the company: Cisco's stock has exploded for gains of more than 36% over the past six months.
Finally, another member of the tech sector won't be held down by Apple's losses. Microsoft is doing quite well on the day, with shares up 1.2% so far. The company reports earnings after the closing bell today, and investors will get a closer look at just how well the Surface tablet and Windows 8 operating system are doing. Things haven't gone quite so well as planned with the rollout of these two products so far, but today we'll have actual numbers to better understand the situation.
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The article The Dow Ignores the Apple Panic originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Dan Carroll has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple, Cisco Systems, and Intel. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Intel, and Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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