In the housing market, the National Association of Realtors said the sale of existing homes rose 12.3 percent in December to an annual rate of 5.28 million units, surpassing forecasts for a rise to 4.85 million.
After Lucent was spun off from AT&T in 1996, it surpassed profit forecasts for 15 consecutive quarters as it became a powerhouse in markets for telecommunications.
News was also mixed on the Internet company Yahoo, which late Wednesday posted quarterly earnings of 8 cents a share, surpassing analysts' forecasts for a 6-cent profit.
Exports, meanwhile, soared 51.8percentt last year, to $8.3 billion, surpassing forecasts by more than 10percentt.
The stock market rose for a fourth straight session on Tuesday as investors seemed optimistic that companies would be able to surpass relatively low forecasts for the earnings season, possibly prolonging the rally.
In the teenage category, increases of more than 10percentt at Aéropostale and Buckle surpassed forecasts.
But the shares rose 18percentt because earnings, excluding special items, surpassed forecasts.
Spending was up 1.0percentt in May, surpassing Wall Street forecasts for a 0.8percentt gain and posting the biggest increase since a 2.4percentt rise in October 2001.
"We have consistently surpassed our own forecasts for attendance," said Mark Looy, a co-founder of the museum and spokesman for the center.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 25 — Apple Inc. surpassed even the most optimistic forecasts for its usually tepid second quarter, delivering an 88percentt increase in profit on strong sales of Macintosh computers and iPod music players.
Most forecasts for the year have already been surpassed, which means a euro at $1.20, or a dollar decline of almost 13percentt in 2003, is not out of the question.
