SmarTrend(r) Midday Market Recap -- August 18, 2009

Last Updated: August 18th, 2009: 12:25 PM ET--- The major U.S. equity indices rose Tuesday as investors shrugged off mixed economic data and focused on some positive earnings reports. Home Depot (NYSE:HD) said that its Q2 profit fell 7%, but earnings came topping consensus estimates, sending shares up 4%. American Axle (NYSE:AXL) rose more than 111% as the auto-parts maker received a credit extension and a $110 million loan from General Motors to assist with costs associated with the auto maker's bankruptcy. July housing starts fell 1% to 581 thousand, short of consensus estimates, and dragged down by multi-family home construction. Producer prices fell by a larger-than-expected 0.9% in July, and record capacity will likely make prices slow to recover. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.78% to 9,206.53, the S&P 500 rose 0.91% to 988.67, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.06% to 1,951.28.

Write to Chip Brian at cbrian@tradethetrend.com

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