US STOCKS-Coca-Cola's gain, oil's drop lead stocks higher
ju4 wa4i dia4n zo1ng he2 ba4o da4o :\n  (Updates to midday, changes byline)\n* Coca-Cola rises as investors seek stable earnings\n* Oil prices reverse gains, energy shares weak\n* Fed to strongly resist rising inflation\nBy Cal Mankowski\nNEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks shifted gears\nand climbed at midday on Tuesday as investors bought Dow\nindustrials like Coca-Cola and other companies with steady\nearnings, while a drop in oil prices helped ease concerns\nabout inflation.\nCoca-Cola Co <KO.N> was the biggest contributor to gains\nin the blue-chip Dow average and helped lift the Standard &\nPoor's 500 after Deutsche Bank upgraded the soft drink maker's\nstock to a "buy" from a "hold."\nEnergy shares slid as U.S. crude oil futures fell more\nthan $2 to trade below $132 a barrel at midday, down from last\nFriday's record above $139. The S&P index of energy shares\n<.GSPE> was down 2.6 percent.\nThe Nasdaq was boosted slightly by Apple Inc <AAPL.O>,\nwhose stock gained 2.6 percent to $186.36 a day after the\nintroduction of a faster iPhone. Earlier Tuesday, Lehman\nBrothers and Citigroup raised their price targets on the\nstock.\nThe market's turnaround followed a morning of stocks\ntrading mostly lower after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben\nBernanke said the central bank would strongly resist rising\ninflation.\n"I think it's a pre-emptive statement so the market will\nnot be surprised when the Fed holds rates steady," said Peter\nJankovskis. director of research at OakBrook Investments LLC\nin Lisle, Illinois, referring to Bernanke's comments.\nJankovskis said gains in stocks like Coca-Cola showed that\n"people seem to be gravitating toward safe-haven companies"\nwhere earnings tend to be steady.\nThe Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 78.89 points,\nor 0.64 percent, to 12,359.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index\n<.SPX> advanced 4.46 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,366.22. The\nNasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 5.22 points, or 0.21\npercent, to 2,464.68.\nOther Fed officials echoed Bernanke's concerns about\ninflation. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard\nFisher said the Fed will not allow inflation to get out of\ncontrol. Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren\nsaid rising food and energy costs were still trickling through\nthe economy, complicating the outlook for inflation.\n[ID:nN10328162]\nShares of Coca-Cola rose 4.7 percent to $58.51 on the New\nYork Stock Exchange.\nIn contrast, shares of Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> and\nChevron Corp <CVX.N> were among the top drags on the Dow.\nExxon Mobil fell 1.8 percent to $87.45 and Chevron declined\n2.6 percent to $98.60.\n(Additional reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Jan\nPaschal)\n((cal.mankowski@thomsonreuters.com ; 1 646 223 6132; Reuters\nMessaging: cal.mankowski.reuters.com@reuters.net ))\n((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available\nfor: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com *\nBridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top\nNews: http://topnews.reuters.com))\nKeywords: MARKETS STOCKS