Consumer-focused firms boost stocks; Netflix soars

Technology and consumer-focused companies led U.S. stocks to more records Tuesday. Netflix, at the center of both groups, soared after saying it gained more than 8 million subscribers last quarter.

Bond prices rose and yields fell after the Bank of Japan said it isn’t cutting back its stimulus programs. Yields had reached longtime highs, and the decline helped high-dividend companies such as utilities and real estate investment trusts. Healthcare and household goods firms fell after Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble gave disappointing reports.

U.S. solar power companies surged after President Trump approved tariffs on imported solar-energy components. Some investors were relieved: Analysts said the tariffs will make production more expensive for U.S. companies, but they weren’t as harsh as they could have been. Companies that do their manufacturing overseas fell, and some of the U.S. companies gave up their gains before trading ended.

Netflix soared 10% to $250.29 after the streaming video firm said it picked up 8.3 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, much more than expected.

Big tech firms also rallied. Facebook rose 2.1% to $189.35. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, rose 1% to $1,176.17. Amazon climbed 2.7% to $1,362.54.

Whirlpool climbed 3.2% to $171.98 after the Trump administration placed a tariff of 50% on large washing machines and some parts.

Johnson & Johnson dropped 4.3% to $141.83 after the healthcare giant said sharply higher spending canceled out a big jump in sales. A federal appeals court also ruled that a Johnson & Johnson patent on its rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade isn’t valid.

Tide detergent maker Procter & Gamble slid 3.1% to $89.05. It reported a bigger profit and better sales than expected, but analysts said its profit margins were weak.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. rose 0.8% to $117.84 after the maker of Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissues said it would cut 5,000 to 5,500 jobs.

Bond prices turned higher. The yield on the 10year Treasury note fell to 2.62% from 2.66%.

Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 90 cents, or 1.4%, to $64.47 a barrel. Brent crude rose 93 cents, or 1.3%, to $69.96 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 3 cents to $1.91 a gallon. Heating oil rose 3 cents to $2.09 a gallon. Natural gas rose 22 cents, or 6.8%, to $3.44 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $4.80 to $1,336.70 an ounce. Silver fell 8 cents to $16.91 an ounce. Copper fell 9 cents to $3.11 a pound.

The dollar slid to 110.30 yen from 110.99 yen. The euro rose to $1.2294 from $1.2258.