Earnings reports help boost stocks
Technology companies led U.S. stocks solidly higher Tuesday, giving the market its second straight gain.
Consumer services companies, retailers and healthcare stocks accounted for a big slice of the broad rally. Banks declined, and oil prices recovered from an early slide.
Strong company earnings and outlooks, as well as some encouraging economic data, helped put investors in a buying mood.
Financial analysts are forecasting the strongest earnings growth in seven years for S&P 500 companies.
Netflix shares jumped 9.2% to $336.06 after the video streaming service said it gained 7.4 million subscribers in the first quarter, more than analysts expected. Other technology companies also posted gains. Microsoft rose 2% to $96.07. Amazon.com climbed 4.3% to $1,503.83.
Twitter leaped 11.4% to $31.84 after Morgan Stanley analysts upgraded their rating of the stock.
Roku climbed 9% to $35.98 after announcing that the ESPN+ streaming service would be available through its devices.
UnitedHealth Group shares rose 3.6% to $238.55 after the nation’s largest health insurer reported a 31% jump in first-quarter profit and said it gained Medicare Advantage and Medicaid customers. It also raised its forecast for 2018.
Johnson & Johnson fell 0.9% to $130.54 after muchhigher spending and onetime charges offset a big jump in the company’s firstquarter revenue.
Southwest Airlines fell 1.1% to $54.27 after one person was killed and others were injured aboard one of the airline’s jets. The plane made an emergency landing at Philadelphia’s airport after an engine failure.
Investors also got some encouraging economic data Tuesday. The International Monetary Fund upgraded its outlook for U.S. economic growth in 2018. The Federal Reserve said U.S. factory output rose slightly last month. And the Commerce Department said housing starts rose in March.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 2.82% from 2.83%. The decline in bond yields, which influence interest rates on loans, weighed on some bank stocks.
The dollar fell to 107.02 yen from 107.10 yen. The euro fell to $1.2367 from $1.2381.
Gold fell $1.20 to $1,349.50 an ounce. Silver rose 11 cents to $16.79 an ounce. Copper fell 2 cents to $3.08 a pound.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 30 cents to $66.52 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 16 cents to $71.58 a barrel. Heating oil fell 1 cent to $2.06 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline was flat at $2.04 a gallon. Natural gas fell 1 cent to $2.74 per 1,000 cubic feet.