US markets rallied for a fourth day

US markets rallied for a fourth day on optimism about the earnings season. A Reuters report that Nouriel Roubini said that the recession may end by year end also sparked off buying interest. The CBOE Volatility Index slipped below 25.

In economic news, initial jobless claims data showed a bigger-than-expected decrease. For the week ending July 11 they came in at 5.22 lakh, which is the lowest since January. On the earnings front, JPMorgan Chase reported better than expected numbers. It posted a strong quarterly profit, but warned of deteriorating consumer credit. Net profit came in at $ 2.7 billion, while its EPS was cut by 27 cents due to TARP repayment.

From the technology space, IBM’s second-quarter earnings were better than analyst forecasts. It reported a 13% fall in revenue. It also raised its outlook for the full year sending its shares up 1.6% in extended trade. And Google’s quarterly profit also bettered Wall Street expectations, but its revenue growth was not as stellar as some investors had expected. Revenue grew by 3%.

At closing bell, the Dow Jones closed up 1.1% at 8711. Nasdaq ended up 1.1% at 1885 and S&P 500 ended up a percent at 940

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