Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

U.S. stocks rise broadly, as health care rally offsets tech sell-off

Published 10/07/2015, 03:32 PM
Updated 10/07/2015, 04:15 PM
The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all closed in the green on Wednesday

The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all closed in the green on Wednesday

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose broadly on Wednesday, as a rally among health care stocks offset a sell-off in stocks in the technology stocks, led by a slight dip by shares in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average post solid gains on Wednesday for its fourth straight winning session, while the NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 Composite index also pared losses from earlier in the day to close in positive territory. The Dow added 122.10 or 0.73% to close at 16,912.29, while the NASDAQ gained 42.79 or 0.90% to end Wednesday's session at 4,791.15.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, rose by 15.91 or 0.80% to 1,995.83, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Health Care, Industrials and Basic Materials sectors led, each gaining at least 1% on the day. Stocks in the Telecommunications and Utilities industries lagged.

Investors await the release of the minutes from the Fed's September meeting on Thursday for further hints on whether the U.S. central bank could raise short-term interest rates before the end of the year. A rate-hike is viewed as bearish for U.S. equities, as investors unload their positions in stocks in favor of higher-yield bearing assets.

The top performer on the Dow was Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which gained 1.06 or 2.13% to 50.86 after its euro partner Euroscreen pledged to raise up to €16 million in support of the drug manufacturer's clinical trial aimed at treating female patients with uterine fibroids. The worst performer was Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which lost 1.07 or 0.87% to close at 122.12. Shares in Nike (NYSE:NKE) still remain near an all-time record high.

The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), which rose 3.96 or 5.84% to 71.81. The casino and entertainment conglomerate has seen its stock jump in recent days, following better than expected revenues at its Macau casino during China's Golden Week. The week-long holiday concludes on Wednesday. The worst performer was ADBE, which fell 4.35 or 5.11% to 80.80. On Tuesday, Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) announced that its Chief Information Officer Gerri Martin-Flickinger will be leaving to become the Chief Technology Officer at Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX). Within the industry, Martin-Flickinger received high marks for helping transform Adobe into a cloud-based company.

The top performer on the S&P 500 was Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX), which surged 1.10 or 9.30% to 12.93. Shares in the mining giant are still down by more than 65% this year, amid a prolonged downturn in global commodities. The worst performer was Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE:YUM), which plunged nearly 20% to 67.55, one day after lowering its full-year outlook for its China division. Yum, which derives more than half of its sales from China, anticipates that its same-restaurant sales in the country for the year will slump into negative territory after posting disappointing revenues during the third quarter.

On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,352-762 margin.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.