Wall Street investors shrug off Brexit vote

NEW YORK — US stocks rose on Tuesday as technology and internet stocks gained on Netflix, Inc.’s plans to raise fees for US subscribers and hopes of more stimulus for China’s slowing economy fostered a risk-on mood among investors.

Netflix shares jumped 6.5% after the video streaming company said it was raising prices for its US subscribers. Other Internet stocks — including shares of Alphabet, Inc.; Amazon.com, Inc.; and Apple, Inc. — also rose following the announcement.

The S&P 500 communication services index, which includes Netflix and Alphabet, climbed 1.7%. S&P 500 technology stocks advanced 1.5%.

Stocks also found support from hints by Chinese officials at more stimulus in the near term, easing concerns about a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

“We’ve had good news today overall,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago.

“China is helping to defuse the daily emotional roller-coaster that is tariffs, and that Netflix thinks it can raise its subscription prices is also really good.”

Wall Street’s major indexes briefly pared some gains after the British parliament defeated Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit divorce deal by a wide margin. The rejection of the deal could lead to a disorderly exit from the European Union (EU) or even to a reversal of the 2016 decision to leave the EU.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq still closed near the session’s highs, however.

“No one was expecting anything great from the Brexit outcome,” said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at SunTrust Advisory Services in Atlanta.

“The market was able to shrug this off.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 155.75 points or 0.65% to 24,065.59; the S&P 500 gained 27.69 points or 1.07% to 2,610.30; and the Nasdaq Composite added 117.92 points or 1.71% to 7,023.83.

Earlier in the day, gains were capped by disappointing earnings reports from big US banks. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest US bank by assets, missed quarterly profit estimates due to a slump in bond trading revenue, while Wells Fargo & Co. said its loan book shrank and quarterly revenue fell in all of its major businesses.

JPMorgan shares erased the early losses and ended 0.7% higher. Wells Fargo shares pared losses to end 1.5% lower.

Health insurer UnitedHealth Group jumped 3.6% and was the top gainer on the Dow after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profit. UnitedHealth shares helped boost the S&P 500 health care index 1.7%.

Analysts expect S&P 500 profits to have grown 14% in the fourth quarter, much lower than the 20.1% growth forecast in October, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.83-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.14-to-1 ratio favored advancers. —