Banks, technology lead stocks higher for 4th-straight day

• August 08 2018
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/banks-technology-lead_140786

NEW YORK, United States (AP) — US stocks climbed for the fourth-straight day yesterday as strong earnings continued to pull the market closer to the all-time high it set in late January.

Industrial companies rose yesterday and banks moved higher as interest rates increased. Gains for Microsoft and Google's parent company Alphabet helped technology companies.

Companies including Hertz, Etsy, and Mosaic climbed after their results surpassed investors' forecasts. Tesla surged after CEO Elon Musk later said he might take the company private.

Gina Martin Adams, chief equity strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence, said companies are reporting huge profit and revenue growth. That's nudged concerns about trade tensions with China, Europe, Canada, and Mexico out of investors' minds.

“Very strong top-line and bottom line growth from the vast majority of companies overwhelmed any fears that started to bubble up in June,” she said.

She added that the tariffs the US and its trading partners have announced recently are still small and haven't affected the broader market very much.

The S&P 500 index rose 8.05 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,858.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 126.73 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 25,628.91. The Nasdaq composite gained 23.99 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7,883.66. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks edged up 3.99 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 1,688.30.