Markets |
S&P 500 ticks above 2,000 as energy offsets tech slide
DJ: 17,073.95 +67.18 NAS: 4,708.25
-8.77 S&P: 2,001.76
+1.77 3/7
(Reuters) The Dow
Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index closed higher on Monday as a
spike in energy shares offset sharp declines in large-cap technology names,
which dragged down the Nasdaq. Crude prices, which have largely
dictated the direction of the stock market this year, were up more than 5
percent. The S&P 500 energy sector .SPNY, up 2.4 percent, rose for the
fifth consecutive session, a streak not seen since October. It is up more than
23 percent from its 2016 low in mid-January.
"The market worked itself to fair value and has taken the
scare out. People were far too pessimistic," said John Manley, chief
equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York.
He said the oil market is finding a footing and that is allowing
stocks in the sector to bounce. However, it may be harder for the recent stock
market bounce to extend much further now that earnings season is winding down.
The Dow Jones industrial
average .DJI closed up 67.18 points, or 0.4 percent,
to 17,073.95, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.77 points, or 0.09 percent, to
2,001.76 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 8.77 points, or 0.19 percent,
to 4,708.25. The S&P notched its
fifth consecutive session of gains, a streak not seen since
October, and closed above 2,000 for the first time since Jan. 5.
Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and
Facebook (FB.O) fell
more than 2 percent each while Microsoft (MSFT.O) lost
1.9 percent and Apple (AAPL.O) shed
1.1 percent.
A string of upbeat data
from major economies and stabilizing commodity prices have helped improve
sentiment ahead of a relatively quiet week in terms of data for Wall
Street as corporate earnings season draws to a close.
U.S.-traded Valeant Pharmaceuticals shares (VRX.N) rose
7.1 percent to $65.66. The Canadian drugmaker said it would report
fourth-quarter numbers next week, giving investors hope for positive news after
months of uncertainty and volatility.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
ratio of nearly 2-to-1 and on the Nasdaq, a 2.21-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the
Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 26 new lows.
About 9
billion shares exchanged hands on U.S. exchanges, slightly above the
8.8-billion average in the past 20 sessions.
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