The Standard &
Poor’s 500 Index fluctuated amid mixed corporate earnings results, and
as a plunge in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. sparked a
second day of selling in biotechnology shares.
Valeant dropped 27
percent after a critical research report. General Motors Co. climbed 6.3
percent after posting a better-than-estimated profit. Chipotle Mexican
Grill Inc. and EMC Corp lost more than 5 percent after their profits
were short of estimates. KLA-Tencor Corp. jumped 23 percent after Lam
Research Corp. agreed to acquire the company for $10.6 billion, while
SanDisk Corp. added 2.7 percent after its deal to be bought by Western
Digital Corp.
The S&P 500 gained
0.2 percent to 2,033.93 at 12:27 p.m. in New York, after rising as much
as 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 77.53 points, or
0.5 percent, to 17,294.64, as Travelers Cos. and United Technologies
Corp. rallied for a second day, joined by Boeing Co. after it raised its
profit forecast. The Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed as
biotechnology shares retreated for a second day.
The S&P 500 is
making little progress for a third session after reaching a two-month
high. Equities have been recovering from a summer selloff and the
benchmark’s first correction in four years, which was fed by anxiety
over China’s slowdown and confusion on the Federal Reserve’s intentions
toward interest rates. The S&P 500 is up 5.9 percent this month,
rebounding from its worst quarter since 2011.
Investors are looking
to corporate America for clues on the strength of the economy as the
Federal Reserve considers raising interest rates for the first time in
almost a decade. The probability of a Fed rate increase this year is
about 34 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. March is the
first month for which traders price in at least even odds of a boost.
Source: Bloomberg.
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