U.S. stocks rise after rocky few days
NEW YORK - U.S. stock indexes moved solidly higher Monday afternoon, recovering some of last week's steep declines. Recently battered technology stocks such as Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) all posted gains, helping end a seven-day losing streak in the Nasdaq composite.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 117.52 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 17,891.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 16.13 points, or 0.8 percent, ending at 2,081.43, and the Nasdaq rose 42.24 points, or 0.9 percent, to finish at 4,817.59.
Notably, one major technology stock that did not participate in Monday's gains was Apple (AAPL), which closed down 10 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $93.64. Apple has fallen eight days in a row, and has now lost 16 percent of its value in the last two weeks.
Technology stocks have been an unexpected drag on the market in the last week. Apple reported its first quarterly decline in profits in years, which sent ripples through the stock market. Investors have been moving into safer investments. The Dow Jones utility index, a collection of 15 dividend-paying utility companies, is up more than 14 percent this year.
"There's a risk-off sentiment in the market right now," said David Lebovitz, a global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock index fell more than 3 percent overnight as markets there reopened after a holiday. The market dropped as Japanese investors continued to react negatively to the Bank of Japan's decision to leave interest rates unchanged. The Japanese yen also continues to climb sharply, which hurts Japanese exporters.
"It's a bit concerning. Investors are beginning to question whether monetary policy can really push Japan's economy forward and generate growth," Lebovitz said.
Among individual companies, Halliburton (HAL) rose after a $34 billion merger with Baker Hughes (BHI) was called off following antitrust concerns from the Justice Department. Halliburton rose 74 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $42.05. Baker Hughes fell 96 cents, or 2 percent, to $47.40.
Apollo Education Group (APOL), which runs the University of Phoenix, rose sharply after a group of investors raised their bid for the company. It was up 97 cents, or 12.4 percent, to $8.77.
A private survey out Monday showed U.S. manufacturing expanded in April for the second straight month, suggesting that factories are adapting to a strong dollar and economic weakness overseas. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index came in at 50.8 last month, down from March's 51.8 reading but above the threshold of 50 that signals growth.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell $1.14 to close at $44.78 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, fell $1.54 to close at $45.83 a barrel in London.
In other energy trading in New York, wholesale gasoline fell four cents to $1.56 a gallon, heating oil lose three cents to $1.36 a gallon and natural gas dropped 14 cents to $2.04 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.86 percent from 1.82 percent late Friday. The dollar slipped to 106.45 yen from 106.73 yen, while the euro strengthened to $1.1523 from $1.1454.
Precious and industrial metals futures ended mixed. Gold rose $5.30 to $1,295.80 an ounce, silver fell 13 cents to $17.66 an ounce and copper lost two cents to $2.26 a pound.