Stocks Rise On PPI Report; AMGN Down on Multiple Downgrades

U.S. stocks rise in early trading after the Labor Department's PPI report matched expectations and showed that inflation is moderating.  This raises investor's hopes of a rate cut later this year.

Drug-maker Amgen (AMGN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) shares are down after the FDA voted to expand warnings on the company's anemia treatment drug, Aranesp.  Amgen also received several downgrades this morning from HSBC Securities, JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Lazard Capital.

On the earnings front, Swedish truckmaker Volvo (VOLV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported a 5.7% drop in first-quarter earnings.  Volvo reported quarterly profits of $550.55 million.  Telecom giant Alcatel-Lucent (ALU | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) posted a $10.8 million Q1 loss this morning.  Shares are trading higher due to promises of a stronger Q2 and full year 2007. ALU was upgraded this morning by Credit Suisse from Neutral to Outperform.

For more stocks to watch, see TradingMarkets 7 Trading Ideas for Today.

Today's PowerRatings Heat Map has started to show more bullish signals after yesterday's selloff.  Here is a snapshot of our Drug sector heat map, which is one of the strongest today:

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