Technology companies led the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index to a new closing high on Monday.
The stock market has recovered all the ground it lost over the previous two weeks, when worries over slower economic growth, falling commodity prices and disappointing quarterly earnings battered financial markets.
The S. P. 500 index rose 11.37 points, to close at 1,593.61. The 0.7 percent increase nudged the index above its previous closing high of 1,593.36, reached on April 11.
“The market has had a terrific run,” said Philip Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investors, noting that the S. P. 500 is up 12 percent since the start of 2013. “At the beginning of the year, I thought we were going to 1,660,” he said, referring to all of 2013. “We’re only about 5 percent from that.”
A pair of economic reports encouraged buying. Wages and spending rose in the United States last month, and pending home sales hit their highest level in three years.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 106.20 points, to 14,818.75, up 0.7 percent. Microsoft and I.B.M. were among the Dow’s best performers, rising more than 2 percent each. I.B.M. alone accounted for a third of the Dow’s increase. The index is just 46 points below its own nominal high of 14,865 reached on April 11.
Technology’s popularity on Monday was a change from earlier this month, when it lagged the rest of the market. Concerns about weak business spending and slower overseas sales have cast a shadow over big tech firms, said Marty Leclerc, the managing partner of Barrack Yard Advisors, an investment firm in Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Revenue misses from I.B.M. and other big companies have highlighted the technology industry’s vulnerability to the world economy. But Mr. Leclerc says he thinks companies with steady revenue and plenty of cash look appealing over the long term.
Information technology stocks rose the most of the 10 industry groups in the S. P. on Monday, up 1.6 percent. It is the only group that remains lower over the last year, down 2 percent, against the S..P’s gain of 14 percent.
The Nasdaq composite rose 27.76 points to 3,307.02, an increase of 0.9 percent. Apple, the biggest stock in the index, surged 3 percent to $430.12.
The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes reached the highest level since April 2010, according to the National Association of Realtors. Back then, a tax credit for buying houses lifted sales. In a separate report, the government said Americans’ spending and income both edged up last month.
A handful of companies reported earnings on Monday. The Eaton Corporation’s quarterly net income beat Wall Street estimates, helped by its acquisition of Cooper Industries, an electrical equipment supplier, though its revenue fell short. Eaton shares climbed 3 percent to $60.28.
Eaton’s results followed a larger pattern this earnings season. Of the 274 companies that have turned in results, seven of 10 have beaten analysts’ estimates for earnings, according to SP Capital IQ. But when it comes to revenue, six of 10 have missed estimates. The divergence suggests companies are squeezing more profits out of cost-cutting, instead of higher sales.
McGraw-Hill, the parent company of Moody’s and Standard Poor’s, surged after news that the ratings agencies had settled lawsuits dating back to the financial crisis that accused them of concealing risky investments. McGraw-Hill gained 3 percent to $53.45, while Moody’s jumped 8 percent to $59.69, the biggest gain in the S. P. 500.
In the market for government bonds, the price of the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was barely changed, falling 1/32 from Friday to 103, while its yield was even at 1.67 percent.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss