Stocks edge higher as tech rebounds and cruise lines rise

NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are higher Tuesday morning as technology companies recover some of their losses from the day before. Cruise lines are trading higher after Carnival had a stronger third quarter than analysts expected. Investors were also waiting for a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen about inflation and monetary policy.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index jumped 6 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,503 as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 64 points, or 0.3 percent, to 22,360. The Nasdaq composite gained 29 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,399 after a drop of 0.9 percent on Monday. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,455.

SAILING ALONG: Carnival’s third-quarter profit and revenue surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. The cruise line raised its annual forecasts and said bookings and prices for next year are higher than they were at this time a year ago. Carnival gained $2.20, or 3.5 percent, to $65.70 and competitor Royal Caribbean Cruises rose $4.77, or 4.2 percent, to $118.65.

FILE – This Wednesday, July 8, 2015, file photo shows the exterior of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stock markets traded in very narrow ranges Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, as investors awaited a speech by the Federal Reserve’s Janet Yellen and ongoing worries over North Korea weighed on sentiment. Oil prices, meanwhile, came off two-year highs amid some modest profit-taking. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

TECH RESET: Big technology companies recovered after sharp losses a day earlier. Apple picked up $2.32, or 1.5 percent, to $152.87 and chipmaker Nvidia rose $6.52, or 3.8 percent, to $177.52. Facebook added $2.28, or 1.4 percent, to $165.12. Open-source software maker Red Hat climbed $4.59, or 4.3 percent, to $110.35 after a better-than-expected second quarter.

EQUIFAX DEPARTURE: Equifax CEO Richard Smith is retiring as the credit reporting agency tries to clean up a mess left by a data breach that exposed highly sensitive information about 143 million Americans. Smith had been CEO since 2005 and is also stepping down as chairman. The company said Smith won’t receive his annual bonus or other benefits until Equifax finishes its investigation into the data breach it disclosed earlier this month. Two other company executives left on Sept. 15. Equifax lost $1.27, or 1.2 percent, to $103.82.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude slid 48 cents to $51.74 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, fell 69 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $57.74 a barrel in London.

BONDS: Bond prices declined. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.24 percent from 2.22 percent.

CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 112.16 yen from 111.61 yen. The euro fell to $1.1786 from $1.1846.

OVERSEAS: Germany’s DAX rose 0.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 added 0.1 percent. In Britain the FTSE 100 was unchanged. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.3 percent and the Hang Seng of Hong Kong gained less than 0.1 percent. The South Korean Kospi declined 0.3 percent.

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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/marley%20jay

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