By Abhiram Nandakumar
REUTERS - Wall Street was higher on Thursday, boosted by a strong recovery in financial stocks after better-than-expected results from Citigroup and largely positive U.S. economic data.
As the earnings season gathers steam, investors will be scrutinizing quarterly results and forecasts for signs of impact from a slowing global economy.
Data on Thursday showed U.S. consumer prices recorded their biggest drop in eight months in September as the cost of gasoline fell, but a steady pick-up in the prices of other goods and services suggested inflation was starting to firm.
In other data, unemployment benefit claims fell in the last week, pointing to a strong labor market.
"(The market reaction) points to not only the importance of earnings season and going beyond the reported numbers but, perhaps even more important, is the outlook and guidance that companies offer as we move through the remainder of third-quarter earnings," said Eric Weigand, senior portfolio manager for the Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank.
The outlook for broader corporate earnings has been tempered, with S&P 500 companies expected to report the biggest decline in quarterly profit in six years, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Citigroup rose 2.7 percent to $52.06 after the third biggest U.S. bank's results beat estimates, while Goldman Sachs rose 1 percent to $181.28.
Citi provided the biggest boost to the financial sector, whose 1 percent rise led the gainers among the 10 major S&P sectors.
Nike rose 2.3 percent to $128.76 after the world's largest sportswear maker said it expects revenue growth to be faster over the next five years.
At 10:54 a.m. ET (1454 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 93.97 points, or 0.56 percent, at 17,018.72, the S&P 500 was up 12.62 points, or 0.63 percent, at 2,006.86 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 43.24 points, or 0.9 percent, at 4,826.09.
HCA Holdings shares sank 6.7 percent to $70.96 after the country's largest for-profit hospital operator said its third-quarter profit was likely to miss estimates.
The stock dragged down other health care shares including UnitedHealth and Community Health Systems.
Netflix slid 7.5 percent to $101.92 after the video-streaming service said U.S. subscriber additions came in below expectations for the third quarter. The stock was the biggest drag on the S&P.
Valeant Pharma's U.S.-listed shares fell 6.7 percent to $165.40 after the Canadian drugmaker said it had been subpoenaed by U.S. prosecutors over its drug pricing policies.
Schlumberger, Mattel and Advanced Micro Devices report after the close.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,992 to 894. On the Nasdaq, 1,909 issues rose and 683 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed five new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 11 new highs and 25 new lows.
(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
