After Market: It's Spring on Wall Street and Stocks Are in Bloom

DailyFinance Staff
Updated


Historically, April has been the best month of the year for the Dow Industrials, and it got off to a good start. Stocks posted solid gains Tuesday, lifting the S&P 500 to a record high. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) gained 75 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) rose 13 and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) jumped 69 points.

The market's gains were led by some of the biggest name Nasdaq stocks.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) gained nearly 4 percent, while Oracle (ORCL) and Microsoft (MSFT) both added more than 1 percent. Microsoft is at its highest level in about 14 years. Other widely traded Nasdaq stocks also gained. Tesla (TSLA) rose 4 percent, Facebook (FB) gained 4 percent, Netflix (NFLX) rose 3½ percent and Google (GOOG) and Amazon (AMZN) both gained 2 percent.

Yahoo also gained 1½ percent. It's in talks to buy News Distribution Network, the fourth largest online video service.

The other big story involved the automakers. General Motors (GM) edged lower on more bad news: the recall of another 1.3 million vehicles for safety issues, and the grilling CEO Mary Barra received on Capitol Hill. GM shares have taken a hit since the recalls began earlier this year. Still, the stock is up 23 percent from a year ago. Many analysts say the damage to GM stock price is likely to be temporary.

Meanwhile, Ford (F) jumped 4½ percent after reporting better-than-expected sales for last month.

Airlines had another stellar day. United (UAL) jumped 5 percent, while American (AAL) and Delta (DAL) both gained more than 3 percent.

Biotechs continued their bounce back. Pharmacyclics (PCYC) rose 7 percent and Celgene (CELG) gained 5 percent.

And casino operators rose on news of strong gaming numbers from Macau. Las Vegas Sand (LVS), Wynn (WYNN) and MGM (MGM) all gained about 2 percent.

Elsewhere, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) jumped 12 percent after winning FDA approval for a new surgical system.

Finally, we have to throw in one loser for you. The Medicines Company (MDCO) fell 15 percent after a federal judge ruled against the company's challenge to patents held by a competitor.

What to Watch Wednesday:

  • Monsanto (MON) reports quarterly financial results before U.S. markets open.

  • The Mortgage Bankers Association reports weekly mortgage applications at 7 a.m. Eastern time.

  • ADP (ADP) releases its survey of private-sector hiring at 8:15 a.m.

  • The Commerce Department releases factory orders for February at 10 a.m.

  • The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the proposed merger of Comcast (CMCSA) (CMCSK) and Time Warner Cable (TWC).

-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg.

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