* Market at 29-month high, bolstered by earnings
* Microsoft surprises with profit but shares are flat
* Dow gains are limited by P&G, AT&T results
* Amazon.com, Sandisk slip in extended trade after results
* Stocks: Dow flat, S&P up 0.2 pct, Nasdaq up 0.6 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates with Amazon, Sandisk results in paragraphs 11-13)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Strong corporate earnings led
Wall Street to a 29-month closing high for a second day on
Thursday, but another run of big gains may be harder to
achieve.
The Dow and the S&P struggled to advance past major
technical levels -- the 12,000 mark for the Dow and 1,300 for
the S&P -- but investors see more gains for companies that
outperform in their earnings.
Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> surprised Wall Street with a
better-than-expected profit, but its shares stayed flat as
investors expressed concern about the weakness of computer
sales. For details, see []
Microsoft stock ended regular trading up 0.3 percent at
$28.87 after the earnings were posted on the company's website.
Microsoft was down slightly in after-hours trading.
Other technology stocks, such as Netflix and Qualcomm,
supported the Nasdaq, but disappointing results from blue chips
AT&T and Procter & Gamble kept the Dow's advance in check.
"What's healthy is that companies that come out with good
reports are being rewarded and those that are not are getting
punished," said Randall Warren, president at Warren Financial
Service in Philadelphia.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> finished up 4.39
points, or 0.04 percent, at 11,989.83. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> closed up 2.91 points, or 0.22 percent, at
1,299.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 15.78
points, or 0.58 percent, at 2,755.28.
Movie-rental company Netflix Inc <NFLX.O> soared 15.2
percent to $210.87 and electronics test equipment maker
Teradyne Inc <TER.N> jumped 11.8 percent to $16.35. Both posted
results Wednesday after the close.
Dow components AT&T <T.N> and P&G <PG.N> fell as their
profits slid from the year-ago period. AT&T dropped 2.1 percent
to $28.13, while P&G lost 2.9 percent to $64.18.
[] []
"The market is not viewing everything as being correlated,
like it used to before," Warren said.
The technology sector, however, may start off weak on
Friday, pressured by Amazon.com and Sandisk, both of which
slipped after reporting after the market's close.
Amazon.com <AMZN.O> posted quarterly revenue that fell
short of analysts' estimates. Its stock dropped 9.8 percent to
$166.40 in extended trade. []
Sandisk Corp <SNDK.O> shares also dipped 2.8 percent to
$49.90 after the bell following results.
The S&P 500 faces technical resistance near 1,300, an area
where closing and session highs clustered during August 2008.
Technical analysts also view 12,000 on the Dow as a possible
sell trigger as the blue-chip average approaches nine straight
weeks of gains.
The S&P has risen 2 percent since the start of the earnings
season and is up 23.7 percent since Sept. 1. Various technical
measures indicate the market may be overstretched.
Qualcomm Inc <QCOM.O> also helped lift the Nasdaq, rising
5.8 percent to $54.89 a day after it raised its outlook for
second-quarter and full-year revenue. For details, see
[]
Caterpillar <CAT.N> shares also rose 0.9 percent to $96.63
after the heavy equipment maker reported results.
Thomson Reuters data showed 71 percent of the S&P 500
companies that have reported earnings so far have beaten
estimates.
Weekly initial jobless claims surged to the highest level
since late October while factory orders fell unexpectedly in
December, the government said. []
Trading volume was 7.6 billion shares on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, down from
last year's estimated daily average of 8.47 billion shares.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
1,673 to 1,312. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by
1,348 to 1,284.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
