Stocks rise with more help from tech

Technology companies led a broad rally for stocks on Wall Street Wednesday, pushing the market further into the green for the week.

The S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 2.1 percent. The indexes started off the day headed higher and never slipped into the red, a change from the market’s recent bout of volatile trading.

More than 85 percent of stocks in the S&P 500 gained ground, with technology and communications stocks powering much of the gains. Microsoft rose 2.2 percent and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, rose 1.6 percent.

Bond yields were mixed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 1.95 percent. It’s still the highest it’s been since before the pandemic began.

Investors continued to focus on a mixed batch of company earnings reports as they try to gauge how Corporate America is dealing with higher inflation and persistent global supply chain disruptions.

Of the roughly 60 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported results for the last three months of 2021, about 62 percent delivered earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s forecasts, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“Earnings and sales really have come in overall quite nicely relative to expectations at the beginning of this quarter, so that’s a positive force within the market,” said Lisa Erickson, senior market strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

The S&P 500 rose 65.64 points to 4,587.18. The benchmark index is now about 4.4 percent below the all-time high it set Jan. 3.

The Dow gained 305.28 points to 35,768.06, while the Nasdaq rose 295.92 points to 14,490.37. The major stock indexes are all on pace for a weekly gain.

Small company stocks also notched gains. The Russell 2000 rose 38.13 points, or 1.9 percent, to 2,083.50.