Investors shrug off weak economc data, stocks rise
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks edged higher yesterday as shares of technology companies and banks rose. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed above 2,500 for the first time as stocks had one of their best weeks this year.
Stocks wobbled in early trading after the Commerce Department said retail sales slipped in August and the Federal Reserve said industrial production dropped last month, mostly because of Hurricane Harvey. But big names like Apple and Boeing took the market higher. Stocks made big gains Monday and as Hurricane Irma weakened, they didn’t do too much after that, but still wound up with their biggest weekly gain since the beginning of January.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 4.61 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at a record 2,500.23. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 64.86 points (0.3 percent), to close at 22,268.34, its fourth record in a row. The Nasdaq composite added 19.38 points (0.3 percent), to 6,448.47. And the Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 6.69 points (0.5 percent), to close at 1,431.71.
Trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 4.4 billion, about one-third more than recent sessions.
Industrial production in the U.S. fell 0.9 percent in August, the biggest drop in eight years, as Harvey knocked numerous oil refining, plastics and chemicals factories out of business for a time. Apple picked up $1.60, or 1 percent, to close at $159.88 after three days of declines. Chipmaker Nvidia jumped $10.71 (6.3 percent), to $180.11 and hard drive maker Western Digital gained $2.73 (3.2 percent), to $88.52.
The dollar advanced to 110.88 yen from 110.54 yen. The euro rose to $1.1938 from $1.1914.