US stocks finish higher; biotech sector steadies

Trader Greg Mulligan, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, March 25, 2014. US stocks Tuesday finished higher as biotechnology companies and other high-tech equities steadied following a two-day skid. AP

NEW YORK—US stocks Tuesday finished higher as biotechnology companies and other high-tech equities steadied following a two-day skid.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 91.19 (0.56 percent) to 16,367.88.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 8.18 (0.44 percent) to 1,865.62 while the tech-rich Nasdaq added 7.88 (0.19 percent) at 4,234.27.

Tuesday’s trade was choppy, with the Nasdaq veering into negative territory at midday before recovering in the afternoon.

Biotechnology names avoided another round of deep losses after posting big drops on Friday and Monday. Gilead Sciences rose 1.3 percent and Celgene jumped 2.1 percent, but Biogen fell 0.3 percent and Amgen lost 0.5 percent.

Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities, said the shift from biotech over the last three days was “probably a healthy move” because it shows one sector can experience weakness without a “collapse” in the overall market.

But some analysts fear the retreat from biotech signals a deeper pullback from stocks and other riskier assets.

“It makes me very concerned,” said Mace Blicksilver, director at Marblehead Asset Management.

IBM led the Dow, posting a 3.6 percent gain as the company announced a series of new initiatives, including a joint venture with Pitney Bowes to provide more precise cloud services to insurers, telecommunications companies and other customers.

“IBM is showing off all of its most modern technologies today, and the market is paying Big Blue back with a serious share price boost,” said Motley Fool.

Other winners in the Dow included Cisco Systems (+3.6 percent) and drug companies Johnson & Johnson (+2.3 percent) and Merck (+2.6 percent).

General Motors fell 1.8 percent following reports of fresh lawsuits related to a massive vehicle recall, including charges the company’s faulty ignition-switch technology caused driver deaths.

Drugstore chain Walgreen missed analyst earnings forecasts by two cents with profits of 91 cents per share, but said it scored record quarterly sales and record second-quarter prescriptions filled. Shares rose 3.3 percent.

Carnival forecast full-year profits of $1.50-$1.70 per share, below the $1.73 seen by analysts. The cruise company has slashed prices following high-profile troubles on some voyages. Shares fell 5.0 percent.

Bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.74 percent from 2.73 percent Monday, while the 30-year increased to 3.58 percent from 3.57 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.