By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks tallied modest gains
Thursday after better-than-expected data on the housing front added
to cheer that came with an upbeat forecast from Citrix Systems
Inc.
Of the 51% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported
first-quarter results so far, 72.4% have reported earnings above
expectations; 11.8% reported earnings in line with expectations and
15.7% reported earnings below estimates, according to Thomson
Reuters analyst Greg Harrison.
"A lot of people are talking about beating, but nobody is
talking about the recent phenomena of companies actually starting
to raise guidance after two quarters of lowering," said Jeffrey
Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James and
Associates.
Since 1994, a typical quarter would have 62% of companies
beating estimates; 18% matching and 20% missing. Over the past four
quarters, 68% beat estimates; 10% matched and 22% missed, Harrison
at Thomson Reuters added.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 53.58 points, or
0.4%, to 13,1344.30.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) 2.47 points, or 0.2%, to 1,393.12,
with telecommunications and financials the leading sectors among
its 10 major industry groups.
Leading gains on the S&P, Citrix Systems (CTXS) rose 11%
after the software maker projected 2012 earnings that beat
estimates.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose 6.50 points, or 0.2%, to
3,036.13.
For every three stocks falling four gained on the New York Stock
Exchange, where 244 million shares traded by 11:30 a.m.
Eastern.
After a tepid start, stock indexes picked up a bit of steam
after the National Association of Realtors reported its index of
pending home sales climbed 4.1% in March to a two-year high.
Results from PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) also boosted housing-related
shares, with the builder reporting less of a quarterly loss than
Wall Street expected, its losses narrowing on improving home-sale
prices.
Weighing on sentiment, weekly jobless claims came in virtually
unchanged.