After 3-Day Slump, Wall Street Stocks Rise Again

Wall Street ended a three-day slump with stock values increasing in early afternoon trading.
After 3-Day Slump, Wall Street Stocks Rise Again
Jonathan Scott (L) and Drew Scott, of HGTV's "Property Brothers" cable television show, mimic traders as they visit the post that handles Scripps Networks Interactive, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, after ringing the opening bell, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. AP Photo/Richard Drew
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U.S. stocks moved higher in afternoon trading Tuesday, on track for their first gain after three straight losses. Investors were focusing on a slate of corporate earnings, including better-than-expected results from Citibank and Domino’s Pizza. Airline stocks also were among the big risers.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 70 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,391 as of 1:49 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 13 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,888. The Nasdaq gained 36 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,250.

THE QUOTE: “We'll see how much stability comes back to the market as a result of this,” said Matt Whitbread, investment manager at Baring Asset Management. “We’ve seen some active afternoon sessions of late where we’ve seen some quick give-ups of some of the morning gains.”

LONG WAY BACK: Stocks are coming off their worst week in more than two years. The Dow went negative for the year on Friday. A late-afternoon slide on Monday extended the market slump, sending the Dow 222 points lower. The Dow is now down 1.1 percent for 2014, while the S&P 500 index is up 2.1 percent.

BANK REPORT CARDS: Several major banks kicked off the third-quarter corporate earnings season. JPMorgan Chase returned to a profit, but missed Wall Street’s expectations. The stock bounced back after being down earlier in the day, rising 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $58.21. Wells Fargo’s earnings matched analysts’ expectations, while Citigroup’s results came in better than expected. Wells Fargo slipped 68 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $49.51. Citigroup rose $1.37, or 2.7 percent, to $51.27.

TASTY SLICE: Domino’s Pizza jumped 9.3 percent on better-than-expected earnings and revenue. The pizza delivery chain operator’s stock rose $7.07 to $82.79.

REGAINING ALTITUDE: Several airline stocks surged a day after the sector got pummeled amid mounting worries that the Ebola virus outbreak could curb travel spending. Delta jumped $1.76, or 5.7 percent, to $32.67, while Southwest climbed $1.47, or 5.1 percent, to $30.35. American Airlines Group gained $3.26, or 11.4 percent, to $31.87.

THICKER THAN WATER: Shares in Cerus climbed 9.1 percent after the Food and Drug Administration approved expanded access of the biotechnology company’s developing blood treatment. The stock added 35 cents to $4.21.

COMPETITION CONCERNS: Johnson & Johnson raised its 2014 earnings outlook, partly due to revenue gains from its new blockbuster hepatitis C drug. But shares in the world’s biggest health care products maker slipped about 1 percent as investors worried about looming competition for the drug. The stock fell 89 cents to $98.22.

SECTOR MONITOR: Eight of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 rose, with industrial stocks posting the biggest gain. Health care stocks fell the most.

BIG DECLINER: Tyco International dropped the most out of all the stocks in the S&P 500 index. The stock slid $1.38, or 3.3 percent, to $40.16.

SHAKY OUTLOOK: Resistance from Germany to increasing government spending to stimulate economic growth in Europe dampened hopes for additional steps to counter what some economists believe may be a lapse back into recession for the region. On Tuesday, Germany got another dose of bad economic news. The ZEW index of investor sentiment fell for a tenth consecutive month in October.

OVERSEAS MARKETS: European markets rose. France’s CAC 40 added 0.2 percent, and Germany’s DAX gained 0.1 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent.

COMMODITIES and BONDS: U.S. crude oil dropped $2.74, or 3.2 percent, to $83 a barrel. The price of gold rose $4.30 to $1,234.30 an ounce, silver rose six cents to $17.40 an ounce and copper rose five cents to $3.09 a pound. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.23 percent from 2.29 percent late Friday.

From The Associated Press. AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo contributed to this report.