Stocks rebound; Nasdaq at record
Technology firms soared Thursday as major U.S. stock indexes recovered the ground they lost the day before. The Nasdaq composite closed at an all-time high.
Big names such as Apple and Microsoft and chipmakers including Intel made big gains. Investors remained optimistic about the tech sector even though much of the market has been shaken by escalating tensions between the United States and its trading partners, especially China.
Banks will begin reporting their second-quarter results Friday. Investors expect another round of strong profit growth for the whole market; they're especially optimistic about tech firms, which will announce their earnings later this month.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 24.27 points, or 0.9%, to 2,798.29. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 224.44 points, or 0.9%, to 24,924.89. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 107.30 points, or 1.4%, to 7,823.92, beating its June 20 record. The Russell 2000 index rose 6.61 points, or 0.4%, to 1,690.28.
Industrial firms also regained much of their Wednesday losses, but energy firms and basic materials makers didn’t rally. Defense contractors rose after President Trump advocated for more defense spending in the United States and Europe. Several European leaders said NATO spending plans haven't changed.
Software maker CA soared 18.7% to $44.15, the biggest gain in the tech sector, after it accepted a takeover offer from Broadcom worth $18.9 billion, or $44.50 a share. Broadcom sank 13.7% to $209.98 as its investors expressed disapproval of the deal, which involves Broadcom taking on $18 billion in debt.
CVS Health rose 1% to $67.99, and Aetna climbed 1.9% to $191.08 after Bloomberg News reported that the Justice Department won't try to stop CVS from buying Aetna.
Papa John's International jumped 11% to $53.67 as founder John Schnatter resigned as chairman after confirming he had used a racial slur in a conference call. Schnatter owns about 29% of the company's stock.
Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 0.1% to $70.33 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 1.4% to $74.45.
Wholesale gasoline rose 0.5% to $2.07 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1.1% to $2.12 a gallon. Natural gas fell 1.1% to $2.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.85% from 2.86%.
Gold rose 0.2% to $1,246.60 an ounce. Silver rose 1% to $15.98 an ounce. Copper rose 1.2% to $2.78 a pound; on Wednesday, it fell to an 11-month low.
The dollar rose to 112.46 yen from 112.04 yen. The euro fell to $1.1670 from $1.1674.