Stocks End Mixed Despite GDP Surge

Shares of insurance company Aetna(AET) dropped even after the company said third-quarter earnings came in 4 cents ahead of analysts' estimates. The company had a profit of $1.27 a share on sales of $4.47 billion, down 7.5%. The company also expects full-year earnings below analysts' consensus. Shares were down 4.2% at $56.30.

Comcast(CMCSA) also reported a third-quarter loss despite a huge increase in revenue. The company lost 7 cents a share on sales of $4.55 billion, compared with $2.7 billion last year. Analysts were calling for a break-even quarter with sales totaling $5.69 billion. Comcast shares closed down 0.7% at $33.40.

BMC Software(BMC) said second-quarter earnings were 10 cents a share, excluding items, ahead of analysts' estimates of 5 cents a share. Revenue rose to $333.8 million. In the third quarter, the company expects to earn 15 cents to 20 cents a share, before items, compared with analysts' consensus of 15 cents a share. Shares of BMC ended up 9.3% at $17.12.

In analyst action, Soundview started coverage ofAskJeeves.com(ASKJ) with an outperform rating and $25 price target, saying it has earnings momentum. The stock added 3.3% to $20.10.

Overseas markets closed mostly higher, with London's FTSE 100 up 0.8% to 4301 and Germany's Xetra DAX up 0.8% to 3645. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4% to 10,695, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1% to 12,143.

Melcher thinks the market will move sideways for roughly the next month because little new money will be coming in.

But, said Melcher: "The market will probably do reasonably well though end of the year." From December though early next year, he said, a lot of money from pension plans could move stock prices higher.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints