Investing.com - The S&P 500 closed higher Thursday as an Apple-infused rally in tech coaxed out investor appetite for stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 0.21%. The S&P 500 rose 0.28%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose about 0.65%.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was the toast of the Wall Street after JPMorgan touted further growth, citing the tech giant's faster-than-expected transformation from a hardware company to a services company.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) also enjoyed gains, propelling the communications services sector higher, underpinning the broader market.
The rise tech proved a welcomed distraction from underwhelming corporate earnings from Bed Bath & Beyond and Carnival (LON:CCL).
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY) crashed 21% after posting second-quarter earnings and guidance that fell short of estimates. The retailer blamed the outlook on the impact of trade tariffs on China-made goods and a stronger dollar.
Carnival (NYSE:CCL) stock was in choppy water, falling 5%, as investors shrugged off above-forecast third-quarter earnings, opting to focus on lighter guidance for the fourth quarter.
On the trade front, meanwhile, there was little to whet investor appetite for stocks in the wake of President Donald Trump's criticism that talks to modernize North American Free Trade Agreement were moving too slowly. U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he had rejected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s request for a meeting relating to NAFTA.
Energy was of little help to the broader market, ending the day roughly unchanged despite a rise in oil prices on expectations for steep losses Iranian crude as U.S. sanctions loom.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for November delivery gained 55 cents to settle at $72.12 a barrel.
Financials also proved a drag on the broader market as bank stocks fell for second-straight day on declining bond yields. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) closed weaker for the day.
In corporate news, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to multiple reports. Musk was accused by the SEC of misleading investors, following a tweet in August in which he claimed to have secured funding to take the company private. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock fell about 11% in after-hours trade.
The tweets caused "market chaos" and "harmed market investors," the SEC said in a statement.
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
WellCare Health Plans (NYSE:WCG), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) and Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) , Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) and Carnival (NYSE:CCL) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.