The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose above its all-time closing high today as investors bid up stocks of financial and technology companies. Bank stocks rose sharply after Bank of America reported that its profit surged to USD 3.44 billion in the fourth quarter. Apple was up 2 per cent.
The S&P 500 gained 10 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 1,849, shortly after 1 pm Eastern time. That was a point above its closing high on December 31, 2013. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 121 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 16,494. The Nasdaq composite rose 28 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 4,211.
Bank of America climbed 2.6 per cent after it reported a surge in earnings. The loans on its balance sheet continue to improve, and the bank's provision for credit losses fell to USD 336 million, from USD 2.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. Even its mortgage division, which took huge losses after the housing bubble popped, improved.
Apple and Microsoft both rose more than 2 per cent.
The industrial supply company dropped the most in the S&P 500, down 5.3 per cent, after reporting that it missed fourth-quarter earnings by a penny. The stock slumped USD 2.57 to USD 45.64.
Shares of 3-D printer company ExOne fell USD 5.41, or 8.7 per cent, to USD 56.85 after cutting its revenue forecast for the year. The North Huntington, Pennsylvania, company cited deferred orders from international customers.
After years of squeezing more and more profits out of every dollar of revenue, companies will have to lift that top line to hit their earnings targets for this year, said Joseph S Tanious, global market strategist at JPMorgan. But he's optimistic. "You will see strong revenue growth," he said. He said a 4 per cent to 6 per cent increase in S&P 500 earnings per share shouldn't be "too difficult.
