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By Franklin Paul LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Gadget industry giants came out swinging this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, unveiling sleek designs and tiny portable digital music players in hopes of ending the dominance of Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) iPods. From Samsung to Sony to Sandisk, everyone wants a piece of Apple's pie in the portable digital music player market, where the iPod reigns. Sandisk Corp. (SNDK.O: Quote, Profile, Resea ...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) --When Genentech rolls out its fourth-quarter and full-year numbers, industry watchers on Wall Street will be peering particularly closely at sales results for two of the company's key drugs. EARNINGSWATCH Genentech earnings to roll out next week Equity Inns shares fall on earnings correction Sales feed gains for Darden, Ruby Tuesday Equity Inns corrects 4 ...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks closed higher on the session and week Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching its highest close in four and a half years, after a weaker than expected December jobs report raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may end its cycle of interest-rate hikes sooner rather than later. Equities began their weeklong rally on Tuesday, when new Federal Op ...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Surging benchmarks from Wall Street to the Pacific Rim propelled Asian shares trading in New York Friday to lofty heights.   MARKETWATCH TOP NEWS U.S. stocks rally higher; Dow at mid-2001 level Dec. payrolls up 108,000; jobless rate falls to 4.9% Bush comes out swinging on economy Tech companies become targets for private-equity funds  ...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Equity Inns shares were active in Friday's extended trading session after the company corrected the fourth-quarter earnings forecast it released Thursday. EARNINGSWATCH Sales feed gains for Darden, Ruby Tuesday Equity Inn shares fall on earnings correction Equity Inns corrects 4Q earns forecast, sees 7c-9c loss Consumer electronics sales sizzle  ...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Oil and gas stocks rallied to a sharply higher close Friday, driven by another jump in crude oil prices and helping to send the Dow Jones Industrials Average to a 4 1/2-year high. See Market Snapshot.  ENERGY ETFs SymbolFund NameLast Price% Daily Return XLE Sel Sector:Energy SPDR 53.46 +2.45% XLU Sel Sector:Util SPDR 32.18 +1.07% IYE iSha ...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - Most media and entertainment stocks closed modestly higher Friday, with Interpublic Group advancing following an upgrade by Merrill Lynch.   MARKETWATCH TOP NEWS U.S. stocks rally higher; Dow at mid-2001 level Dec. payrolls up 108,000; jobless rate falls to 4.9% Bush comes out swinging on economy Tech companies become targets for private-equity ...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - Shares of Best Buy Co. shot up in heavy trading Friday to provide a platform for the sector's main measure after the consumer-electronics retailer turned in robust December sales to provide a platform for the sector's main measure.  RETAIL ETFs SymbolFund NameLast Price% Daily Return XLY Sel Sector:Cnsmr SPDR 33.33 +0.82% XLP Sel Sector:C St ...

CHICAGO (Dow Jones) - Hot sales of MP3 players and accessories powered strong gains at both Best Buy Co. and Circuit City Stores Inc. in December, sending shares of both higher in pre-market trading Friday. Best Buy(BBY), the nation's largest consumer-electronics retailer, said December sales shot up 12% to $5.7 billion last month, while sales at stores open longer than a year - a key industry me ...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock futures are pointing to a higher open Friday as the number of jobs created in December fell short of expectations, strengthening hopes the Federal Reserve can end its policy of raising interest rates sooner rather than later. Dow futures were up 31 points at 10,965, Nasdaq 100 futures rose 8.5 points to 1,731.50 while S&P 500 futures climbed 5.10 points t ...