New York Report: US stocks rise with indexes near to records
US STOCKS rose yesterday and the S&P 500 hit a record intraday high, helped by gains in health insurers’ shares and optimism about merger activity.
The Nasdaq reached a 14-year high, though all three indexes closed off their highs for the day, with the S&P 500 finishing less than a point away from its record closing high of 1,848.38.
Humana and UnitedHealth Group ranked among the S&P 500’s biggest percentage gainers, with Humana’s stock jumping 10.6 per cent to $113.69 after it said the government’s proposed cuts to the private Medicare programme appeared to be less than it had forecast. UnitedHealth shares rose three per cent to $76.01.
Weak recent economic data has largely been blamed on harsh winter weather, which has kept investors hopeful that the pickup in the economy remains intact.
The latest data showed the Chicago Fed National Activity index fell to minus 0.39 in January from 0.16 in December while financial data firm Markit’s preliminary February reading on the services sector fell to 52.7 from 56.7.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 103.84 points or 0.64 per cent, to close at 16,207.14. The S&P 500 gained 11.36 points or 0.62 per cent, to end at 1,847.61, after rising to an intraday record of 1,858.71.
The Nasdaq Composite added 29.558 points or 0.69 per cent, to finish at 4,292.968.
Many traders are looking ahead to Thursday, when Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak to the Senate Banking Committee.