Ford's Stock Rallies After June Sales Boosted By Big Jump In Truck Sales

Shares of Ford Motor Co. rallied 1.9% in morning trade Friday, after the automaker reported June vehicle sales that rose 6.4% above a year ago, boosted by a big jump in truck sales. Sales of truck soared 24.2% to 96,354 vehicles in June, while cars dropped 12.1% and SUVs increased 7.3%. Within Ford trucks, F-Series sales climbed 28.6%, E-Series grew 8.8% and transit jumped 19.0%. For Ford cars, Taurus tumbled 44.0%, Fiesta dropped 49.0%, Mustang fell 16.6% and Focus declined 11.6%, while Fusion increased 4.4%. With 1.35 million vehicles sold during the first half of the year, Ford said it had its best first-half performance since 2006. The stock is down 9.1% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 3%.