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NEW YORK - The Nasdaq composite index jumped this morning (NZT), outstripping gains on the Dow and S&P 500, as investors piled into technology shares ahead of Apple Inc's quarterly earnings report.
Technology stocks, along with the health-care sector, are seen as posting the biggest year-over-year earnings growth in the third quarter, according to Reuters Estimates. Tech stocks emerged largely unscathed from a dramatic sell-off on Wall Street late last week, spurred by fear about a contracting economy.
Despite Nasdaq's swift gains, there were some traces of caution on Wall Street.
"We're in earnings season and it's earnings that tripped us up last week," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak in New York. "We're far from out of the woods. Google didn't save the market on Friday. Maybe Apple does have a broader impact, but one stock is not enough."
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 60.07 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 13,582.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 6.85 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 1,507.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 29.21 points, or 1.07 per cent, at 2,754.37.
Shares of Apple were up 1.7 per cent to US$173.17. Other big gainers were software makers Microsoft Corp, up 1.3 per cent to US$30.55 and Oracle Corp, up 2 per cent to US$21.17. Google Inc was 0.9 per cent higher to US$650.67.
Financial shares and home builder stocks, two of the groups that were hammered the hardest, bounced back today as investors sought out bargains.
- REUTERS