![Strong coporate earnings pushed Wall Street higher despite weaker-than-expected economic news. [Reuters]](http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201006/r579914_3638694.jpg "Strong coporate earnings pushed Wall Street higher despite weaker-than-expected economic news. [Reuters]")
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Strong coporate earnings pushed Wall Street higher despite weaker-than-expected economic news. [Reuters]
Elyse Morgan
Last Updated:
Stocks rose marginally on Wall Street for a second day, with strong
coporate earnings just outweighing weaker-than-expected economic news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up just 8 points to 12,402.
The Nasdaq gained 22 points to 2,782, while the S&P 500 climbed 5 points to 1,326.
Several big retailers including Tiffany's and Guess surprised the market with better-than-expected results.
Shares in Heinz, the world's biggest tomato sauce maker, rose after it upgraded profit expectations.
In an announcement to the New York Stock Exchange it said plans to cut as many as 1000 jobs world wide and five factories, with one in the Pacific Region.
The cuts amount to about three per cent of its work force according to analysts.
The ABC has been told 146 workers at the Heinz factory at Girgarre near Shepparton in Victoria's north east, were told to pull up production last night.
A spokeswoman for Heinz has confirmed there will be meetings with staff but would not give any more details.
In the US, economic data weighed on the market.
Jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 424,000 last week which is worse than what economists were expecting.
In addition, the US Commerce Department left first-quarter gross domestic product growth at 1.8 per cent, which is also shy of forecasts.
The price of crude oil fell more than 1 per cent on the disappointing growth figures.
At 8.30am AEDT West Texas Crude was worth $US100 a barrel.
However, Singapore's Tapis Crude climbed overnight to be worth $121.24 a barrel.
Spot gold was worth $US1,521 an ounce
Over in Europe, the eurozone finance ministers have warned that the IMF may block a vital 12 billion euro aid payment to Greece, which is the next instalment in its bailout.
A team of inspectors from the European Union and the IMF will review Greece's progress in meeting bailout terms next week.
The Greek government has called emergency talks with the opposition as repayment deadlines loom.
Without the next payment of aid money Greece risks defaulting on it's debt repayments.
London's FTSE 100 managed to gain 11 points to close at 5,880, but the rest of Europe's markets all slumped on the news.
The Australian share market was heading for a slightly higher open of trade.
The ASX SPI 200 was up six points to 4,674.
The local currency was buying 106.4 US cents, 86.3 Japanese yen, 64.8 British pence and 75.2 euro cents
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