Biogen, Nike lift US stocks; Nasdaq above 5,000

US stocks rose in early trade today, lifted by a strong Nike earnings report and promising clinical results from Biogen on a medication to treat Alzheimer's Disease.
About 25 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,098.03, up 139.00 points (0.77 per cent).
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 14.00 (0.67 per cent) to 2,103.27, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index surged 34.84 (0.70 per cent) to 5,027.22.
Dow member Nike jumped 3.5 per cent as earnings for the quarter ending Feb. 28 gained 16 per cent to USD 791 million.
Biogen surged 6.7 per cent after reporting that clinical trials of its aducanumab drug slowed dementia by a significant amount. Biogen advanced the drug to the next phase of testing.

The Biogen announcement sparked a rally of other biotech stocks, helping to lift the Nasdaq above 5,000. Celgene gained 1.6 per cent while Amgen tacked on 1.1 per cent.

Shopping mall company Macerich slumped 7.6 per cent after rival Simon Property Group raised its bid from its previous USD 91 a share to USD 95.50 in "its best and final offer" for a deal. Simon rose 1.1 per cent.
Jewelry chain Tiffany shed 3.3 per cent following its forecast of a drop of about 30 per cent in first-quarter earnings.
Darden Restaurants rose 2.9 per cent after reporting that third-quarter earnings rose 22 percent to USD 133.8 million. Total sales at its Olive Garden chain rose three per cent.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.94 per cent from 1.97 per cent yesterday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.52 per cent from 2.53 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.