US stocks finish with sharp gains

Wall Street stocks finished Wednesday, May 21, 2014, with sharp gains following mixed retail sector earnings and Federal Reserve policy meeting minutes that confirmed the Fed’s stated policy course. AP PHOTO/MARK LENNIHAN

NEW YORK—Wall Street stocks finished Wednesday with sharp gains following mixed retail sector earnings and Federal Reserve policy meeting minutes that confirmed the Fed’s stated policy course.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 158.75 points (0.97 percent) to 16,533.06.

The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 15.20 (0.81 percent) to 1,888.03, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 34.65 (0.85 percent) to 4,131.54.

Jewelry giant Tiffany & Co. bolted 9.2 percent higher on a strong earnings report, while home-improvement retailer Lowe’s missed expectations, falling 0.2 percent.

The minutes of the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee meeting in April showed policy makers discussing how to manage the impact of an interest rate hike they expect to implement only in mid-2015.

Brent Schutte, market strategist at BMO Global Asset, said stocks accelerated their gains after the FOMC minutes did not imply a faster time-table to raising rates.

But, he added, “It feels like it’s a bounce-back” after Tuesday’s losses.

Target slashed its 2014 earnings forecast from $3.85-$4.15 to $3.60-$3.95 citing, among other factors, expenses related to a giant data breach this winter. Shares rose 1.0 percent.

Online shopping site eBay fell 0.2 percent after revealing that cyberattackers broke into its database of customer names and passwords in what could be one of the biggest breaches of its kind.

The company urged customers to change passwords and protect their personal and financial information.

Netflix announced a big push in Europe, unveiling plans to offer television and film streaming in France, Germany and four other countries. Shares rose 5.1 percent.

AIG advanced 1.9 percent as Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock. Goldman expects the insurer to outperform other large financial institutions in generating capital, Barron’s reported.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.54 percent from 2.51 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year increased to 3.42 percent from 3.38 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.