US stocks rise on Citi earnings, retail sales
In this April 11, 2014, photo, trader Anthony Carannante, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A government report showing March retail sales notched their biggest increase in 18 months helped give US stocks a lift Monday, April 14. Better-than-expected results from Citigroup helped ease worries that first-quarter corporate earnings would be weak. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW
NEW YORK—US stocks rose decisively Monday after a solid earnings report from Citigroup and encouraging retail sales data, reversing course after deep losses late last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 146.49 points (0.91 percent) to 16,173.24, while the S&P 500 gained 14.92 (0.82 percent) at 1,830.61.
The Nasdaq, which has fallen sharply over the last month, added 22.96 (0.57 percent) at 4,022.69.
The gains came after the government reported US March retail sales jumped 1.1 percent, better than expected. Citi’s first-quarter earnings also bested analyst forecasts.
However, the increase in the Nasdaq still lagged the other two indices. Trendy stocks like Facebook and Tesla Motors have been vulnerable to concerns about another tech bubble.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, said tech investors are still “a little jittery” ahead of earnings reports Tuesday and Wednesday from Google, Intel and Yahoo.
“After several days of strong declines, the market is trying to stabilize,” Cardillo said.
Most stocks in the hard-hit technology and biotechnology sector enjoyed a good day. Yahoo added 1.8 percent, Intel jumped 1.5 percent, Biogen tacked on 2.0 percent and Google and Apple each rose 0.4 percent.
But Tesla slumped 2.8 percent.
Credit-card companies Visa and Mastercard rose 2.2 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.
Big oil companies were also stronger. On the Dow, ExxonMobil added 1.2 percent and Chevron advanced 1.4 percent.
Investors smiled on Citi earnings, which came in at $1.23 per share, excluding special items, well above the $1.14 projected by analysts. Shares rose 4.4 percent.
Shares of Medtronic and Edwards Lifesciences reacted to a US court ruling Friday that ordered an injunction on the sale in the US of Medtronic Corevalve heart-valve system. Medtronic fell 1.9 percent, while Edwards jumped 11 percent.
Medtronic is appealing the injunction, which relates to a patent dispute between the companies.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.64 percent from 2.62 percent Friday, while the 30-year held steady at 3.48 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
