US stocks rise despite Russia’s Ukraine move

In this March 12, 2014, photo, specialists Anthony Matesic, left, and John Urrbanowitz confer as they work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. US stocks barreled higher Tuesday, March 18, despite Russia’s move to absorb Crimea following a controversial weekend vote by the region to secede from Ukraine. AP

NEW YORK—US stocks barreled higher Tuesday despite Russia’s move to absorb Crimea following a controversial weekend vote by the region to secede from Ukraine.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 88.97 (0.55 percent) to 16,336.19.

The broad-based S&P 500 shot up 13.42 (0.72 percent) to 1,872.25 to bring it within striking-distance of a record. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 53.36 (1.25 percent) to 4,333.31.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty making Crimea part of Russia, heightening tensions with Western Europe and the United States, which accused Moscow of an illegal land grab.

But Putin also said that Russia had no designs on a larger break-up of Ukraine

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, said the latest Ukraine news has not been surprising.

“The market is not that nervous at this time,” Cardillo said.

Investors are looking ahead to Wednesday’s conclusion of a two-day policy meeting at the US Federal Reserve.

Cardillo said Tuesday’s big gains for stocks contrasted with the cautious, narrow trade that usually takes place the day before a Fed decision.

Dow component Microsoft jumped 3.9 percent on a report that it will unveil a version of Microsoft Office for Apple’s iPad later this month. Apple rose 0.9 percent.

General Motors advanced 1.6 percent after chief executive Mary Barra appointed a new vehicle safety chief in response to a growing scandal over the company’s failure to react to an ignition switch defect linked to 12 deaths.

Hertz announced plans to spin off its equipment rental business and split into two publicly traded companies. The car-rental giant expects to garner $2.5 billion from the transaction, supporting a new $1 billion share repurchase program. Shares fell 0.5 percent.

Video game retailer GameStop suffered from an announcement that Wal-Mart Stores plans a new trade-in program for video games. GameStop shares lost 3.4 percent on concerns the program will cut into sales. Wal-Mart rose 0.1 percent.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 2.68 percent from 2.70 percent Monday, while the 30-year held steady at 3.63 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.