Tech, healthcare stocks lift Wall Street to record
Reuters
Published Nov 21, 2017 01:13PM ET
Tech, healthcare stocks lift Wall Street to record
By Sruthi Shankar
(Reuters) - Wall Street indexes hit record intraday highs on Tuesday, lifted by technology stocks and healthcare shares, which were boosted by bullish results from medical device maker Medtronic .
The S&P technology index (SPLRCT) rose 1 percent, helped by gains in Apple (O:AAPL). The index has risen 38 percent this year, far outperforming other major sectors and the broader S&P 500.
"It is a return of momentum for the market, with some of positive earnings and recommendations as catalysts," said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank's Private Client Reserve unit.
"They (technology stocks) have been in the leadership position for long and have produced remarkable earnings growth. With the sector also standing to benefit from tax reforms, they will continue to be in a favored position," Wiegand said.
At 12:35 p.m. ET (1635 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was up 178.7 points, or 0.76 percent, at 23,609.03, the S&P 500 (SPX) was up 16.91 points, or 0.65 percent, at 2,599.05 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) was up 63.26 points, or 0.93 percent, at 6,853.98.
With the third-quarter earnings season winding down and no major economic data in sight, trading activity is expected to slow ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.
Medtronic's shares (N:MDT) rose 5.2 percent to $82.80 after the company reported better-than-expected results and backed its full-year forecast.
Hormel Foods (N:HRL) and Urban Outfitters (O:URBN) gained more than 4 percent after reporting quarterly results.
Oil prices rose ahead of next week's OPEC meeting where major crude exporters are expected to extend production cuts. [O/R]
Lowe's (N:LOW) dipped marginally even as the home improvement chain reported strong sales and profit on higher demand after recent hurricanes.
Signet Jewelers (N:SIG) tanked 27 percent after reporting a surprise quarterly loss, pulling down Tiffany (N:TIF) by more than 1 percent.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,986 to 845. On the Nasdaq, 1,913 issues rose and 944 fell.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.