Stocks Edge Higher as Tech Rebounds and Cruise Lines Rise

NEW YORK (AP) —
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(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

U.S. stocks are slightly higher Tuesday after giving up much of an early gain. Cruise lines are up after Carnival had a stronger third quarter than analysts expected, but banks and energy companies are down. Investors are also monitoring a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen about inflation and monetary policy.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 3 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,499 as of 1 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,311. The Nasdaq composite gained 13 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,384 after a drop of 0.9 percent on Monday. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 5 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,457 after closing at a record high the day before.

SAILING ALONG: Carnival’s third-quarter profit and revenue surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. The cruise line raised its annual forecasts and said bookings and prices for next year are higher than they were at this time a year ago. Carnival gained $2.07, or 3.3 percent, to $65.57; and competitor Royal Caribbean Cruises rose $3.32, or 2.9 percent, to $117.20.

TECH RESET: Chipmaker Nvidia rose after it said several major Chinese companies, including e-commerce giants Alibaba and Baidu, will use its products in data centers and cloud computing platforms. Its added $3.50, or 2 percent, to $174.50.

Open-source software maker Red Hat climbed $4.13, or 3.9 percent, to $109.89 after a better-than-expected second quarter. Some other big technology companies recovered after sharp losses a day earlier. Apple picked up $2.07, or 1.4 percent, to $152.62.

EQUIFAX DEPARTURE: Equifax CEO Richard Smith is retiring as the credit reporting agency tries to clean up a mess left by a data breach that exposed highly sensitive information about 143 million Americans. Smith had been CEO since 2005 and is also stepping down as chairman. The company said Smith won’t receive his annual bonus or other benefits until Equifax finishes its investigation into the data breach it disclosed earlier this month. Two other company executives left on Sept. 15. Equifax lost $1.01, or 1 percent, to $104.08.

ADIDAS TUMBLES: The director of global sports marketing for athletic apparel maker Adidas was one of 10 people charged in what the U.S. government described as a scheme to match agents and advisers to college basketball players before they became NBA stars. Four assistant basketball coaches were arrested along with Adidas executive James Gatto.

U.S.-traded shares of Adidas fell $2.86, or 2.5 percent, to $110.94.

MORE CHANGES: Kohl’s traded lower after the department store said CEO Kevin Mansell will retire in May. He will be replaced by Michelle Gass, a former Starbucks executive who has been with the company since 2013. Mansell, a 35-year company veteran, has been CEO since 2008.

Kohl’s slipped 28 cents to $45.93.

ENERGY: Energy companies fell as benchmark U.S. crude slid 3cents to $51.88 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, gave up 77 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $57.66 a barrel in London.

BONDS: Bond prices declined. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.24 percent from 2.22 percent.

CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 112.22 yen from 111.61 yen. The euro fell to $1.1781 from $1.1846.

OVERSEAS: Germany’s DAX rose 0.1 percent, and the FTSE 100 in Britain fell 0.2 percent. France’s CAC 40 rose less than 0.1 percent. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.3 percent, and the Hang Seng of Hong Kong gained less than 0.1 percent. The South Korean Kospi declined 0.3 percent.

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