The employment report released yesterday showed that 358,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs were created in January - well above forecasts of 235,000.

The costs of completing the tunnel linking Britain and France were well above original forecasts.

So all they cared about in Tuesday's announcement was the projection that fourth-quarter sales would jump to $250 million, well above forecasts of $175 million.

Speculation that Malaysian palm oil production in January may have been above forecasts weighed on soybeans and soy oil, traders said.

Economic growth was 5.6 percent in the first quarter of the year, well above forecasts.

But that was a penny above forecasts, and the stock edged up.

While the home sales were well above forecasts, the downward revision for the prior month took some of the sting out of the latest report.

In July, the Brazilian Government sold its controlling share to the public at a price well above forecasts.

The company had earnings of $28.9 million, or 5 cents a share, a penny above forecasts.

Excluding autos, sales increased 0.5 percent, well above forecasts for a 0.2 percent gain.