Indexes up: Dow 1%, S&P 1.2%, Nasdaq 1.4% Updates will close; changes quote Oct 14 Reuters - Wall Street's main indexes rallied on Thursday as a surge in technology stocks and strong quarterly results helped investors look away from inflation concerns.
The biggest boost came from growth names including Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, and Google-parent Alphabet, which rose more than 1%.
Bank of America gained 1.3% as its profit exceeded expectations in the market, helped by the release of reserves to absorb loan losses.
UnitedHealth Group Inc jumped about 5% to top the S&P 500 and Dow, after health insurer raised its adjusted profit forecast on strength from its Optum unit who manages drug benefits.
Heading into this third quarter reporting period, the market was experiencing weakness a lot of analysts were worried that earnings could end up disappointing, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.
If this could be the buy-the-dip, we are entering what is usually seasonally favorable period for the market. Possiblely we will have a nice run between now and the end of 2014. Analysts expect corporate America to report strong quarterly profit growth and will focus on comment from companies on how they are going to battle rising costs, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions.
Meanwhile, data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits closed near to a 19-month low last week, while a separate report showed producer prices accelerated 8.6% in the 12 months through September.
The reports come a day after consumer prices rose solidly in September, which further strengthened the case for interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
James Bullard said that his outlook for the U.S. economy is pretty bullish, while putting a 50% chance on high levels of inflation persisting
ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 385.38 points or 1.12%, or 38,763, to 33,985. 19, the S&P 500 was up 54.02 points, or 1.24%, at 4,417. 82, and the Nasdaq Composite was in over 198.90 points, or 1.36%, on 14,770. All 11 S&P sectors advanced in early trading, with healthcare and technology leading the gains.
Banking stocks under pressure as investment banks Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Citigroup dropped despite strong quarterly earnings reports.
Domino's Pizza Inc fell 1.5% after the pizza chain reported a surprise drop in U.S. same-store sales on a slowdown in demand for deliveries.
The Dow Jones increase in investing issues by a ratio of 5.48 to 1 on the NYSE and 3.24 to 1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 26 new 52 week highs and 12 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 46 new highs and no new lows.