GPI, AN, SAH, ABG, CBS, VIA, VLO, TTM Popular Stocks
U.S. stocks rose Wednesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 112 points to 9983, the S&P 500 gaining 14 points to 1087 and the Nasdaq Composite rising 24 points to 2164.
Group 1 Automotive Inc. (NYSE:GPI, $31.79, +$2.01, 6.75%) said it expects third-quarter earnings, excluding certain items, to be between 68 cents and 72 cents a share, far above the 51 cents analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected. The auto-dealership operator credited cost savings and the government’s “cash for clunkers” program. Other auto-dealership chains also climbed, with AutoNation Inc. (NYSE:AN, $19.30, +$1.01, 5.52%), Sonic Automotive Inc. (NYSE:SAH, $11.99, +$0.88, 7.92%) and Asbury Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE:ABG, $14.18, +$0.96, 7.26%) up.
National Amusements Inc., the privately held firm run by media mogul Sumner Redstone, will further reduce its stakes – but retain voting control – in CBS Corp. (NYSE:CBS, $12.46, +$0.31, 2.55%) and Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA, $30.29, +$0.20, 0.66%) in order to pay off the company’s creditors. National Amusements said it expects to make about $600 million from the sale of Viacom shares and about $345 million from the sale of the CBS shares.
Refiner Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO, $18.69, -$0.49, -2.55%) drew a downgrade to sell from buy at Soleil Securities in the face of weak refining margins. Analyst Jacques Rousseau cited concerns that the company will announce a major asset write-down when its third-quarter earnings are reported on Oct. 27.
Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE:TTM, $12.73, +$0.72, 5.99%) will introduce later Wednesday its first sedan in nearly seven years as India’s third-biggest car maker by sales seeks to boost its presence in the expanding but increasingly competitive local automobile market. It also raised its production plans for the Nano minicar by 20%.
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