Technology, health care help stock market set more records

Associated Press

NEW YORK — The market’s biggest winners this year, technology and health care, powered U.S. stock indexes to more alltime highs on Tuesday.

Huge technology companies like Apple and Facebook continued their ascent, while strong reports from companies including medical device maker Medtronic and construction and technical services company Jacobs Engineering helped health care and industrial companies, respectively.

Basic materials companies, which have done better than the rest of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, also rose. Telecommunications companies declined, while energy companies and banks didn’t do as well as the rest of the market.

Apple, Facebook, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, the five most valuable companies on the stock market, all rose more than 1 percent, and they all have had a very strong year. JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, said that’s not about to stop.

“They’re seeing better earnings, better sales, better growth,” he said. “It’s difficult to argue with that.”

The S&P 500 index climbed 16.89 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,599.03. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 160.50 points, or 0.7 percent, to 23,590.83. The Nasdaq composite added 71.76 points, or 1.1 percent, to 6,862.48.