Stocks closed higher on Wall Street, led by gains in health care and technology companies and giving the market its third straight gain and more in Wednesday’s Stock Market Update.
The broader market has been rebounding this week following its worst week since December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average joined other indexes in moving higher after it was weighed down for several days by drops in Boeing.
Shares in the aircraft maker slid 1.1 percent after President Donald Trump issued an emergency order Wednesday afternoon grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft. The move follows the decision by several countries to ground the aircraft this week following Sunday’s deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8.
Chipmaker Nvidia added 3.4 percent, helping drive technology stocks higher. CVS Health rose 3.3 percent as health care stocks rose broadly. Synchrony Financial gained 1.9 percent amid a broad financial sector rally.
Several government reports gave investors an upbeat view of the economy. U.S. wholesale prices barely increased last month after falling for three straight months, a sign there is little inflation pressure in the economy. A report on orders to U.S. factories showed that business investment rose 0.8 percent after two months of declines, marking the biggest gain since a 1.5 percent July bump.
Investors are still waiting for details on a potential trade deal between the U.S. and China, and the British Parliament is set to vote on whether the country should crash out of the European Union on March 29 without a deal.
ANALYST’S TAKE: The latest batch of encouraging economic data kept investors in a buying mood, said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen.
“The durable goods orders were strong today, (the producer price index) was very well-behaved, mortgage applications are up more than expected, he said. “Even the eurozone industrial production index was less bad than feared. And you have oil prices moving up.”
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 rose 19 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,810. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148 points, or 0.6 percent, to 25,702. The Nasdaq rose 52 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,643. Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.61 percent.
GROUNDED: Boeing shares skidded for the third straight day as the U.S. moved to temporarily ground all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft. Until now, the Federal Aviation Administration had been saying that it didn’t have any data to show the jets are unsafe.
Many nations barred the Boeing 737 Max 8 from their airspace this week following Sunday’s crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8, which killed 157 people.
A similar Lion Air plane crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people.
Boeing shares slumped more than 11 percent in the first two days of this week. Despite the recent slide, the stock is still up 14.4 percent for the year.
EXECUTIVE PURGE: Rite Aid rose 2.4 percent after the drugstore chain announced a purge of its top management and plans to cut 400 full-time jobs.
CEO John Stanley will step down when the company finds a replacement. Chief Financial Officer Darren Kast and Chief Operating Officer Kermit Crawford are also among the executives leaving the company.
PELTZ SEES GREEN: The Canadian marijuana company Aurora Cannabis jumped 12.2 percent after it tapped hedge fund manager Nelson Peltz as an adviser.
Peltz is the CEO and a founding partner of Trian Fund Management. Aurora said he will help the company explore potential partnerships and advise its global expansion plans.
BRANCHING OUT: Howard Marks’ Oaktree Capital Group surged 12.2 percent on news that Brookfield Asset Management is buying 62 percent of the company. The deal creates a combined company with $475 billion assets and $2.5 billion in annual fee-related revenue, the companies said.
The deal includes options that could have Brookfield owning all of Oaktree by 2029.
IN THE BAG: Vera Bradley surged 21.9 percent after beating Wall Street forecasts for the fourth quarter and giving analysts a surprisingly good outlook for the year.
The maker of luggage and handbags reported lower sales during the quarter, but the results still topped forecasts. Both revenue and profit forecasts for the current fiscal push beyond Wall Street expectations.
NOT A GOOD LOOK: Express skidded 10.6 percent after the clothing chain reported weak fourth-quarter sales and gave investors a disappointing first-quarter outlook.
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