Wall Street Rallies on Election Day; AOL Advertising Bumps Up Profit (AOL)

Wall Street continued with gains for a second day in a row while Americans cast ballots for the presidential election. At the close of the markets, the Dow Jones was up 133.23 points or 1%. Oil, gold and other commodities also rallied on Tuesday with crude for December delivery rising 3.6%. The Labor Department reported a drop of 100,000 in job postings during the month of September. In the coming months the rate of hiring will most likely remain modest. AOL Inc. (AOL) announced revenue that was higher than expected at $531.7 million and advertising that rose 7%. This is the strongest advertising growth that the company has seen in seven years. News Corp. (NWSA) posted earnings after the bell with a Q1 revenue of $8.14 billion. Freddie Mac was boosted by the US housing market and reported its forth straight quarterly net profit.

Word on the Street

• Home prices in the US down 0.3% in September, the first drop in months.
• AOL Inc. (AOL) sees profit on strongest advertising growth in seven years.
• Fewer jobs were posted in September and hiring will likely be modest in coming months.
• Freddie Mac posts a $2.9 billion profit for the third quarter, does not ask Treasury for additional aid.
• Gas use has hit an eight-month low, with demand sliding 2.4% last week.
• American Suzuki files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• HSBC (HBC) reports a sharp drop in profit and is still haunted by laundering allegations.

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