Financial, energy shares help reverse three-day slide
new york — Stocks rose for the first time in three days on Tuesday, led by financial and energy shares, on better-than-forecast earnings at regional banks and record prices for oil and gasoline.
Regions Financial Corp. and M&T Bank Corp. rallied, leading financials to their first advance in a week, after profits were boosted by their sale of stakes in Visa Inc. as part of the credit card company’s initial public offering.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips led energy producers to the highest level since January as crude climbed above $114 a barrel.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 6.11 points to 1,334.43. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 60.41 to 12,362.47. The Nasdaq composite index increased 10.22 to 2,286.04.
Regions Financial increased $1.56, or 8.4 percent, to $20.12 after saying first-quarter net income increased 1.1 percent to 48 cents a share. M&T rallied $5.11, or 6.3 percent, to $85.86, the biggest gain in almost a month. Northern Trust Corp. rose $3.04, or 4.7 percent, to $68.04.
Morgan Stanley added 55 cents to $43.52. Citigroup Inc. increased 29 cents to $22.80.
Charles Schwab Corp. added $1.64, or 9 percent, to $19.95. The largest discount brokerage by customer assets said first-quarter profit rose 29 percent.
Exxon Mobil Corp. climbed $1.10 to $90.80. Chevron Corp. added 87 cents to $90.17. Crude oil rose to $114.08 a barrel, while gasoline climbed to $2.881 a gallon in New York, both records.
BJ Services Co. added $1.38 to $30.50. Range Resources Corp. increased $2.22 to $69.07, an 18-year high free credit report instantly.
Textron Inc. added $1.56 to $59.80. United Technologies Corp. climbed 85 cents to $70.84.
Compuware Corp. added 76 cents, or 11 percent, to $7.75 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The supplier of business software reported fourth-quarter sales and earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. added $2.35, or 8.7 percent, to $29.32.
EMC Corp., the world’s largest maker of storage computers, slumped 47 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $14.17.
Delta Air Lines Inc. fell $1.32 to $9.16. Northwest Airlines Corp. dropped 94 cents to $10.28.
State Street Corp. lost $7.63, or 10 percent, to $69.23, the steepest drop in the S&P 500.
Forest Laboratories Inc. fell $3.67, or 9.2 percent, to $36.13 for the second-biggest decline. The maker of the antidepressant Lexapro forecast sales and profit that missed analysts’ estimates.
Northrop Grumman Corp. lost $5.27, or 6.9 percent, to $71.57, its biggest drop in five years. The defense company said it will take a first-quarter charge of as much as $360 million because of delays on a new ship.
Crocs Inc. fell $7.68, or 43 percent, to $10.11. The maker of colorful clogs said it will fire its 600 Canadian plant workers after lowering annual earnings and sales forecasts.