IBD's Top 10 - Thursday

Markets Soar On Earnings Data

1 The volatile-of-late Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumped 1.7% on higher volume, helped by upbeat bond insurer comments. The small-cap S&P 600 soared 2.7%. Retailers, financials and home builders rallied to end Jan. higher. But for the month, the Nasdaq fell 9.9%, the S&P 500 6.1% and the Dow 4.6%. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 8 basis points to 3.61%.

Google's Q4 EPS, Revenue Miss

2 The search giant fell 7% in late trading after saying profit rose 39% to $4.43 a share ex items, a penny shy of views. Revenue ex traffic acquisition costs climbed 52% to $3.39 bil, also a little below views. Google goog is struggling to make money via social networking. As consumers curb spending, advertisers may follow suit.

MasterCard's Q4 EPS, Sales Top

3 The No. 2 credit card network's profit surged 187% to 89 cents a share, beating views by 17 cents. Revenue rose 28% to $1.07 bil, also above views, fueled by overseas growth. MasterCard MA cited higher credit card activity. While some rivals suffer big write-downs, MasterCard doesn't offer credit directly to consumers, so it's less exposed to bad debt. Shares rose 9.5%.

MBIA: We Will Keep AAA Rating

4 Fighting charges it faces far-greater losses, the bond insurer said it has enough liquidity to keep its credit rating through current woes -- after reporting a $2.3 bil loss in Q4, or $18.61 a share, as it wrote down $3.5 bil in assets. MBIA shares jumped 11% and rival Ambac rose 7%. S&P said late it might cut MBIA's ratings but left Ambac's alone.

Jobless Claims Jump To 2-Yr High

5 Claims rose 69,000 to 375,000 last week, the most since after Hurricane Katrina. Seasonal quirks and a late MLK Day played a big role, but the data also cast doubt on prior weeks' low claims. The Jan. jobs report is due out Fri. Also, Dec. income and spending edged past views. But yearly wage gains hit a 2-year low; real spending growth was the lowest since Apr. '03.

Motorola May Shed Handset Unit

6 Shares of the ailing cell phone firm shot up 11% in late trading after Motorola said it may spin off its mobile device unit. That would leave it with its wireless tech assets. Motorola is "exploring" various options, but says there's no assurance of a deal. With few compelling products, Motorola has faced falling sales and market share.

Obama Donations Surge $32 Mil

7 Dem Barack Obama raised $32 mil in Jan., letting him advertise heavily in 20 of 22 states voting Feb. 5. Obama and rival Hillary Clinton collected over $100 mil in '07. Also, Calif. Gov. Schwarzenegger endorsed GOP hopeful John McCain over Mitt Romney ahead of that delegate-rich state's vote next week.

Stimulus Strikes Dem Roadblock

8 Senate Dems said they'll force votes next week on a bigger economic stimulus package, derailing hopes that a bipartisan House plan backed by Bush now estimated to cost $161 bil would pass swiftly. The Senate plan tacks on $32 bil in spending by adding rebates for retirees and disabled vets while extending jobless benefits.

Bush To Urge Budget Tightening

9 The president's fiscal '09 budget, which he'll send to Congress on Mon., will virtually freeze most domestic programs and seek $178 bil in savings from health care programs, nearly triple what he proposed last year, an aide said. Pressure to clamp down on federal spending has risen with the planned economic stimulus projected to boost this year's deficit to about $400 bil.

ICE Q4 Profit Up On Acquisitions

10 Intercontinental Exchange's ICE Q4 profit rose 16% to 94 cents a share ex items, topping views by 2 cents. Revenue jumped 67% to $159.3 mil, above views for the electronic energy exchange. Also, Nasdaq Stock Market NDAQ said EPS rose 7%, but missed views by a penny. Revenue was strong. Market volatility has fueled trading revenue. Nasdaq shares rose 4%, while ICE gained less than 1%.