U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday, with major indexes up for a fifth straight day as technology companies rallied again on strong results.
With the session’s advance, which builds on a jump of about 2 percent on Tuesday, the S&P 500 is up about 4.5 percent over the past five sessions, putting it on track for the biggest five-day rally since December 2011.
The gains were largely driven by earnings, with tech names among the biggest gainers of the day. Late Tuesday, both Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) and Broadcom (BRCM.O) beat revenue expectations, and the stocks were the S&P 500’s two biggest advancers.
Broadcom climbed 7 percent to $39.95 while Yahoo was up 6.4 percent at $42.77. Dow Chemical (DOW.N) rose 1.6 percent to $48.98 after its results, helping to lift material stocks .SPLRCM 0.6 percent.
Limiting the market’s advance was Boeing Co (BA.N), which dipped 1.8 percent to $124.87 despite reporting higher-than-expected earnings and raising its outlook. Its line comes after a rise of 5.8 percent over the four previous sessions.
“The season has been mixed, and the global economy is a concern for big multinational companies, but the fact that the market can shake off some bad reports is indicative of what good footing it is on right now,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Nashville.
At current levels, the S&P is 3.4 percent from its closing record, and up 6.7 percent from its session low last Wednesday, when the benchmark neared correction territory.
In the latest economic data, consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in September as energy costs fell broadly, painting a weak inflation picture that should give the Federal Reserve ample room to keep interest rates low for a while.
At 10:10 a.m. the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 7.72 points, or 0.05 percent, to 16,622.53, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.68 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,942.96 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 1.69 points, or 0.04 percent, to 4,417.79.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,607 to 1,182, for a 1.36-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,207 issues fell and 1,118 advanced for a 1.08-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.
The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 35 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 32 new highs and 13 new lows.
REUTERS
