Energy firms give stocks a boost
Energy firms led U.S. stocks modestly up Wednesday, nudging the Nasdaq composite index to its fifth record-high close in a row.
Rising crude oil prices gave energy companies a boost. Traders also bid up shares in utilities.
Healthcare stocks fell after President-elect Donald Trump spoke about the need for the government to stem drug costs.
The stock market spent much of the day wavering between small gains and losses as investors sized up outlooks from several companies ahead of the latest corporate earnings reports.
During a news conference, Trump said the government has to create new bidding procedures for the pharmaceutical industry “because they’re getting away with murder.” The remarks sent healthcare stocks broadly lower, particularly pharmaceutical firms’ shares. Endo International led the decliners in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, sliding 8.5% to $14.01. Perrigo slid 6.9% to $77.88.
Not all drugmakers had a bad day. Merck rose 2.9% to $61.63 on news that the Food and Drug Administration will do a quick review of one of its drugs for its potential to treat a type of lung cancer.
Big U.S. companies start reporting fourth-quarter earnings this week. On Friday, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are to release their results.
“As we look into 2017, we still expect equities are going to be able to grind higher, because we still have enough of an economic push to do that,” said Tim Dreiling, regional investment director for U.S. Bank’s Private Client Reserve. “But a move up in equities is going to have to come from earnings.”
SuperValu slid 7.5% to $4.43 after the grocery store operator announced a weak third-quarter profit.
Traders bid up shares in several firms that projected strong fourth-quarter results. Intuitive Surgical climbed 2.4% to $678.16, and medical device maker Stryker rose 1.4% to $123.66.
Meanwhile, Signet Jewelers fell 3.2% to $84.70 after it cut its profit forecast, and auto parts supplier BorgWarner slid 1.6% to $40.12 after it issued a disappointing profit and sales forecast.
Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 2.8% to $52.25 a barrel. Brent crude rose 2.7% to $55.10 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 5 cents to $1.59 a gallon, and heating oil rose 4 cents to $1.65 a gallon. Natural gas futures fell 5 cents to $3.22 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.36% from 2.38%.
The dollar fell to 115.43 yen from 115.73 yen. The euro rose to $1.0576 from $1.0560. The British pound rose to $1.2208 from $1.2163. Gold rose $11.10 to $1,196.60 an ounce. Silver fell 2 cents to $16.83 an ounce. Copper was little changed at $2.61 a pound.