Stocks Move Higher, Sending Dow Industrials Closer to 22,000

NEW YORK (AP) —
stocks, markets, wall street
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

U.S. stocks are rising Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average closer to a record 22,000 points. Banks and technology companies are posting some of the biggest gains. Under Armour is tumbling after the athletic apparel company lowered its revenue projections and said it will cut jobs and expenses.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,475 as of 3:05 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 74 points, or 0.3 percent, to 21,965. The Nasdaq composite gained 7 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,355. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,426.

GETTING PAID: Citigroup picked up 93 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $69.38 and Goldman Sachs gained $2.40, or 1.1 percent, to $227.73.

Payment processor Visa rose $1.10, or 1.1 percent, to $100.66. Mastercard, which processes debit and credit card payments, rose $1.54, or 1.2 percent, to $129.34.

Intel rose as South Korean regulators signed off on its deal for Mobileye. Mobileye makes software that processes information from cameras and other car sensors to decide where an autonomous car should steer, and Intel agreed to buy it for $15 billion in March. Intel gained 92 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $36.39.

Xerox reported solid quarterly results and jumped $1.65, or 5.4 percent, to $32.32.

SPRINT SPRINGS: Phone companies, which have missed out on this year’s market gains, climbed. Sprint rose after it said it’s open to combining with another phone company or a cable company. The fourth-larger U.S. wireless carrier also reported its first quarterly profit in three years as it cut cost and added wireless subscribers. Sprint was on pace for its biggest gain of the year as it rose 92 cents, or 11.6 percent, to $8.90.

T-Mobile USA climbed $1.29, or 2.1 percent, to $62.95 and Verizon Communications gained 76 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $49.16.

THE QUOTE: Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, said it’s a good sign that some industries that had struggled this year are climbing higher.

“When people are willing to go out and do the proverbial bargain hunting in areas that have not outperformed as much, that shows confidence,” he said. “The broader the bull market becomes, the more sectors that participate, the more sustainable it becomes.”

SMOOTH SEAS: Cruise line operator Royal Caribbean beat analysts’ forecasts and raised its estimates for the year. It climbed $3.88, or 3.4 percent, to $116.95 and competitor Carnival also advanced 78 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $67.57.

POWERING DOWN: Utility company Scana continued to rise after it said it will end construction of two nuclear reactors that customers have already paid billions to build. Scana’s South Carolina Electric & Gas unit and state-owned Santee Cooper say they have already spent $10 billion on the project and that it could cost $20 billion to finish. The companies blamed years of delays and cost overruns, and the project has been shrouded in doubt since Westinghouse, the primary contractor, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

Scana rose $3.02, or 4.7 percent, to $67.39 following a 5 percent gain on Monday.

SLIMMING DOWN: Under Armour cut its annual revenue forecast as sharp discounts continue to affect its business in North America. The Baltimore company said it will eliminate 280 jobs and is aiming to reduce $110 million to $130 million in annual spending through a restructuring plan. Under Armour sank $1.66, or 8.3 percent, to $18.36, and it’s down by more than half over the last 12 months. Rival Nike rose 62 cents, or 1 percent, to $59.67.

STUCK IN NEUTRAL: Industrial companies and automakers fell. Engine maker Cummins reported a weaker-than-expected profit due to higher warranty costs, and its stock fell $10.96, or 6.5 percent, to $156.94. Power management company Eaton disclosed a smaller-than-expected profit and fell $5.09, or 6.5 percent, to $73.16.

General Motors and Ford declined as auto makers were expected to report their seventh consecutive month of lower sales. GM’s sales fell 15 percent in July and Ford’s decreased 7.5 percent. GM fell $1.25, or 3.5 percent, to $34.73 and Ford declined 29 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $10.93.

ENERGY: Oil prices plunged after a six-day rally. U.S. crude shed $1.01, or 2 percent, to $49.16 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 94 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $51.78 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline slid 2 cents to $1.66 a gallon. Heating oil fell 3 cents to $1.64 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3 cents to $2.82 per 1,000 cubic feet.

BONDS: Bond prices climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipped to 2.25 percent from 2.30 percent.

METALS: Gold gained $6 to $1,279.40 an ounce. Silver fell 2 cents to $16.76 an ounce. Copper dipped 1 cent to $2.88 a pound.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 110.28 yen from 110.24 yen. The euro slid to $1.1806 from $1.1831.

OVERSEAS: The DAX in Germany DAX rose 1.1 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 both rose 0.7 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.3 percent while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.8 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.8 percent.

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