Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Friday 11 May 2018
A25

Tech and health care firms drive more gains for US stocks

By ALEX VEIGA Booking Holdings slid 4.7 trading, heating oil was
AP Business Writer percent to $2,080.02 after little changed at $2.22 a
A broad rally drove U.S. its latest quarterly report gallon. Wholesale gasoline
stocks solidly higher Thurs- card disappointed traders. added 3 cents to $2.19 a
day for the second day in L Brands slumped 7.2 per- gallon. Natural gas gained
a row, extending the mar- cent to $31.68 after the re- 8 cents to $2.81 per 1,000
ket’s gains for the week. tailer said it expects to only cubic feet.
Technology companies, reach the low end of its Major indexes in Europe
which have led the mar- first-quarter profit forecast. finished higher Thursday.
ket this year, contributed Benchmark U.S. crude oil Germany’s DAX rose 0.6
the most to the rally. Health reversed an early slide. It percent and France’s CAC
care stocks and banks also rose 22 cents to settle at 40 added 0.2 percent. Brit-
accounted for a big slice $71.36 a barrel in New York. ain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.5
of the market’s gains as Brent crude, used to price percent.
investors sized up the lat- international oils, gained 26 Earlier in Asia, Japan’s
est company earnings and cents to close at $77.47 per benchmark Nikkei 225
economic news. Crude oil barrel. rose 0.4 percent. South Ko-
prices rebounded after an The dollar fell to 109.37 rea’s Kospi added 0.8 per-
early slide. This Monday, Aug. 24, 2015, file photo shows the New York Stock yen from 109.72 yen on cent. Hong Kong’s Hang
The S&P 500 index rose Exchange. Stocks are off to a solid start on Wall Street, building Wednesday. The euro Seng gained nearly 1.0
25.28 points, or 0.9 percent, on the market’s gains from a day earlier. strengthened to $1.1927 percent.q
to 2,723.07. The Dow Jones in April, a sign that broader year Treasury note down from $1.1861. The pound
industrial average climbed inflation pressure remains to 2.96 percent from 3 per- weakened to $1.3519 from
196.99 points, or 0.8 per- muted. Excluding the vola- cent late Wednesday. $1.3555 after the Bank of
cent, to 24,739.53. The gain tile food and energy cat- Technology stocks extend- England held off raising in-
turned the Dow back to egories, core prices ticked ed their gains. The sector, terest rates due to weaker
positive for the year. up just 0.1 percent last which is up 11.1 percent economic growth so far
The Nasdaq added 65.07 month and 2.1 percent this year, ahead of all oth- this year.
points, or 0.9 percent, to from April last year. ers. Gold rose $9.30 to $1,322.30
7,404.97. Slower growth in core prices On Thursday, Qualcomm an ounce. Silver gained 22
Smaller-company stocks may mean that the Federal led the sector, climbing cents to $16.76 an ounce.
continued to post solid Reserve will be less inclined 3.4 percent to $54.97 after Copper picked up 5 cents
gains. The Russell 2000 index to accelerate interest rate the company’s board ap- to $3.11 a pound.
of smaller-company stocks hikes. The Fed has signaled proved a $10 billion share In other energy futures
picked up 7.66 points, or they will lift rates twice buyback.
0.5 percent, to 1,603.71. more this year, following an Envision Healthcare was
That’s the highest close for increase in March. Some the biggest gainer among
the index since January. expect that an uptick in in- health care stocks. The
“They’ve had a good flation or economic growth company added 5 percent
couple of months,” said might spur the Fed to add to $42.74. Cardinal Health
Tom Martin, senior portfo- a third hike. also moved higher, adding
lio manager with Globalt “It tells us that rates are go- 3.8 percent to $54.74 after
Investments. “The dollar ing to continue to go high- The Wall Street Journal re-
really strengthened here er, but maybe it starts to ported that experts think
up until the last couple of call into question: Are we the Trump administration’s
days, and that is benefiting really going to have four? plan to reduce drug prices
those smaller-cap compa- Maybe three is enough,” won’t have a big effect on
nies.” said Bob Doll, chief equity costs.
The major indexes were strategist at Nuveen Asset Traders also had their eye
moving higher from the Management. on corporate earnings
get-go Thursday as inves- Bond investors appeared Thursday.
tors sifted through the lat- to interpret the consumer CenturyLink jumped 7.5
est measure of inflation in prices data as a sign that percent to $19.40 after
the economy. the Fed is not likely to speed the telecom company re-
The Labor Department said up the pace of its planned ported earnings that were
that U.S. consumer prices rate hikes. Bond prices rose, much higher than analysts
rose a modest 0.2 percent pulling the yield on the 10- were expecting.