Stocks rose on Wednesday, with the Dow and Standard Poor’s 500-stock index rising to new highs in a broad market rally.
The Nasdaq also reached its highest point since November 2000, though gains were limited by a steep decline in Apple. Shares of the technology giant sold off in late afternoon trading after filings from hedge funds showed that the one-time Wall Street darling had been dropped by more hedge fund managers in the first quarter.
But shares of Apple’s rival, Google, rose to a record high at $916.38 on news that it had adopted a business model for streaming music.
The day’s gains were broad, with nine of the S. P. 500’s 10 sectors ending higher. Among the top gainers were the consumer staples sector index, up 1 percent, and the financial sector, also up 1 percent. The only decliner was the energy sector index, down 0.4 percent.
The overall market showed further signs of strength as the S. P. 500-stock index reached a high for the fourth session in a row. The broad index has recorded 15 nominal closing highs this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 60.44 points, or 0.40 percent, to 15,275.69 at the close on Wednesday. The S. P. 500-stock index added 8.44 points, or 0.51 percent, to finish at 1,658.78. The Nasdaq composite index gained 9.01 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 3,471.62.
During trading, the Dow touched a record intraday high at 15,301.34, while the S. P. 500 reached a record intraday peak at 1,661.49. Earlier, the Nasdaq reached a 52-week high at 3,475.48.
In the latest assessments of the economy, activity in New York state’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in May. Another report showed that industrial production in the United States fell more than expected in April.
“It’s disconcerting that the data was so much lower than what we were looking for, but there’s no reason for investors to sell,” said Michael Binger, senior portfolio manager at Gradient Investments in Minneapolis.
“The main things driving the market — the Fed, earnings, consumer confidence — are holding up, and people put money in the market on any down day. I still see a lot of value,” he said.
In signs that the rally may strengthen from current levels, the Credit Suisse Fear Barometer, known as the CSFB Index, fell 11.4 points over the last two weeks — the largest decline on record — and was now at a one-year low of 21.73.
“A low CSFB reading is a constructive signal for the market,” a Credit Suisse equity derivatives strategist, Mandy Xu, wrote in a note to clients.
Among Wednesday’s top gainers was Agilent Tech, up 3.9 percent to $45.68, a day after the company posted adjusted earnings that beat expectations and doubled its stock buyback program to $1 billion.
Tech shares got a lift from Netflix, up 4 percent at $243.40, and from Yahoo, up 2.6 percent at $27.34. In contrast, the Computer Sciences Corporation was the S. P. 500’s biggest loser, dropping 9.7 percent to $44.71 after reporting results.
Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 5.1 percent to $44.34 in anticipation of favorable data from clinical trials of its melanoma drug.
In other data released on Wednesday, the producer price index recorded its largest drop in three years in April, falling a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent.
The price of the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 12/32 to 98 9/32, dropping the yield to 1.94 from 1.98 on Tuesday.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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