US stocks start higher on Wall Street following a big gain
AP Business Writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 1 month AGO
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading following a big gain in the market last week. Large retailers, including Amazon, and technology companies led the way higher Monday.
Solid earnings helped push Burger King operator Restaurant Brands higher. Botox maker Allergan also climbed after reporting surprisingly good results.
Energy companies, including Exxon Mobil, lagged the market as as oil prices edged lower. Bank of America and Citigroup fell along with other banks.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained stable at 1.57%.
The slight gains for stocks follow a solid gain last week. But, optimism gave way to caution late in the rally as the virus outbreak continues to threaten the world’s economy.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index rose 0.4% as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 95 points, or 0.3%, to 29,198. The Nasdaq rose 0.5%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks rose 0.2%. Markets in Europe and Asia fell, though China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose slightly.
VIRUS UPDATE: The new virus has now infected more than 40,600 people, the majority of those cases and almost all of the deaths have occurred in China. The world’s second largest economy has been taking more measures to soften the economic blow, including funding low-interest loans to businesses while promising tax cuts and subsidies. But, businesses continue feeling the impact globally.
Sony and Amazon are the latest companies to pull out of a major European technology show due to fears over the outbreak.
CLEAN SHAVE: Edgewell Personal Care surged 22% after the owner of Schick razors said it would end its $1.37 billion buyout pursuit for upstart shaving company Harry’s. Edgewell, the No. 2 razor maker in the U.S., behind Gillette, made the decision shortly after the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the sale.
WEEK AHEAD: Companies are more than halfway through their latest round of earnings and 65 companies in the S&P 500 will report this week. Toy maker Hasbro and hotel operator Hilton will release results on Tuesday. CVS Health will release its results on Wednesday and Kraft Heinz will report earnings on Thursday.
Investors will also have several economic reports to consider this week, including the government’s consumer price index update for January, along with retail sales and industrial production reports.
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