Russell rises on strong earnings

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) moved up for the second consecutive day on news of strong corporate earnings. The small-cap index added 6.07 points, or 0.78%, to 783.99. The Dow moved up 100.96 points, or 0.76%, to 13,463.33.

Finland’s mobile phone maker Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) encouraged the bulls with news that second-quarter profit doubled due to strong sales in China and India.

Woonsocket, R.I.-based drugstore operator CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) also doubled its profit and beat analysts’ projections, while restaurant operator Applebee’s International Inc. (Nasdaq: APPB) reported a second-quarter net income of $24.2 million, or $0.32 per share, compared with a net income of $20.4 million, or $0.27 per share, during the same quarter of 2006.

There was also some bad news.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that total construction, measured by the value of construction put in place, fell 0.26% to an annual rate of $1,175 billion in June, compared with $1,178 billion in May.

The annual pace of construction was $1,204 billion in June 2006.

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