The stock market edged higher on Monday as energy stocks got a lift from recovering oil prices.
The energy sector climbed 1 percent, making it the biggest gainer in the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index. Crude oil rose 92 cents, to $89.19 a barrel, on Monday.
The broader market managed only a modest advance as investors focused on the outlook for company profits at the start of a big week for earnings on Wall Street.
About a third of the companies in the S. P. 500 index, including Exxon Mobil and Apple, will report earnings this week. While the reports have been good, concerns remain about the outlook for the rest of the year.
“Most of the companies seem to be coming in ahead of earnings expectations, but the thing that’s still problematic is the revenue line,” said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management. “To me it’s just symptomatic of the global economy continuing to sputter along.”
Of the companies that have reported earnings, 67 percent have exceeded analysts’ expectations, exceeding the 10-year average of 62 percent, according to S. P. Capital IQ. Analysts expect earnings to rise by 2 percent in the first quarter, down from the 7.7 percent increase in the fourth quarter.
On Monday, Halliburton, the oil services company, gained $2.08, or 5.6 percent, to $39.29 after it said that it lost $18 million in the first quarter, pulled down by $637 million in charges related to its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The loss was smaller than analysts had expected.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.66 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,567.17. The S. P. 500 closed up 7.25 points, or 0.5 percent, higher at 1,562.50.
The stock market is coming off its biggest weekly drop since November. Last week the S. P. 500 and the Dow each lost 2.1 percent, paring their advances after a strong start to the year.
The Nasdaq composite index gained the most of the three major indexes, rising 27.50 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,233.55. Apple, which reports its earnings after the market close on Tuesday, rose 2.1 percent, or $8.14, to $398.67.
Microsoft rose $1.07, or 3.6 percent, to $30.83, after ValueAct Capital, an activist investor, disclosed that it had acquired a nearly $2 billion stake in the company.
In the bond market, interest rates eased. The price of the 10-year Treasury note rose 3/32, to 102 24/32, while its yield slipped to 1.70 percent from 1.71 percent late Friday.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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