Tech stocks rally after early loss, leading market higher
NEW YORK – Stocks overcame a weak start and finished broadly higher Tuesday, giving the major indexes on Wall Street their best day in nearly five weeks.
The S&P 500 rose 1.6%, enough to recoup almost all of its losses from last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq gained 2.2%.
The last time the indexes mounted a bigger rally was March 16. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq came into this week with two straight weekly losses, while the Dow has fallen three weeks in a row.
Stocks have mostly struggled this year amid uncertainty over how the economy and Corporate America will be affected as the Federal Reserve moves to reverse low-interest rate policies that helped markets soar in recent years.
“We’re just getting a little bit of a bounce back from what’s been a tough couple of weeks,” said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
The S&P 500 rose 70.52 points to 4,462.21. The Dow recovered from a 17-point drop and climbed 499.51 points to 34,911.20. The Nasdaq gained 287.30 points to 13,619.66.
Nearly 90% of the stocks in the benchmark S&P 500 rose. Technology stocks helped power the broad gains. Pricey valuations for many of the bigger technology companies give them more sway in directing the broader market higher or lower. Microsoft rose 1.7%.
Retailers and health care companies also helped lift the market. Amazon rose 3.5%. Johnson & Johnson rose 3.1% after reporting surprisingly good earnings while also raising its dividend.
Banks gained ground along with rising Treasury yields, which allow them to charge higher interest rates on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.94% from 2.85% late Monday. Bank of America rose 1.9%.
Smaller company stocks outpaced the broader market in a sign of confidence about economic growth. The Russell 2000 rose 40.63 points, or 2%, to 2,030.77.
Energy stocks were the only laggard. U.S. crude oil prices fell 5.2% and natural gas prices slumped 8.2%.
Wall Street is increasingly focusing on the latest round of corporate report cards as more big companies release their earnings. Signature Bank jumped 8.1% after beating analysts’ expectations.
Dental products maker Dentsply Sirona slumped 13.4% after firing its CEO without giving a reason, along with issuing a profit forecast for the current quarter that was far below analysts’ estimates.
Netflix sank 25% in after-hours trading after the video streaming giant reported its first loss in worldwide subscribers in its history. Netflix said it was bracing for things to get even worse with a projected loss of another 2 million subscribers during the AprilJune period. As of Tuesday’s close, Netflix had already lost half its value since hitting an all-time high last November.
Gold for June delivery fell $27.40 to $1,959 an ounce. Silver for May delivery fell 76 cents to $25.39 an ounce, and May copper fell 8 cents to $4.72 a pound.
The dollar rose to 128.77 Japanese yen from 126.98 yen. The euro rose to $1.0790 from $1.0784.