Brands Rise

Friday’s session ended with gains. Brands such as Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, and Coca-Cola stepped up. Indices closed in positive territory amid encouraging data on German business confidence and better-than-expected earnings news. The Ifo institute’s business climate index registered a reading of 107.4 in February. Up from a revised 104.3 in January, the results exceeded an expected increase to a reading of 104.9. On another note, Hewlett-Packard reported respectable earnings details after the closing bell on Thursday. The PC titan said profit hit 82 cents a share on revenue of $28.4 billion in its fiscal first quarter. The results exceeded anticipated earnings of 71 cents a share on revenue of $27.79 billion. Additionally, the company said its outlook for the second quarter was for profit of 80 cents to 82 cents a share, and full-year earnings of $3.40 to $3.60 a share.

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