S&P 500, Nasdaq Rise To New Highs As Technology Stocks Rally

U.S. stocks ended broadly higher on Tuesday, shrugging off some adverse news on the vaccine front, and amid expectations of strong quarterly earnings from big name companies.

Data showing an uptick inflation weighed a bit, although it did not trigger any big selling in the market.

Technology stocks gained in strength and lifted the Nasdaq Composite Index up by over 1% to a new high. The S&P 500 also posted a new high, while the Dow closed on a negative note.

The Dow ended down 68.13 points or 0.2 percent at 33,677.27. The S&P 500 advanced 13.60 points or 0.33 percent to 4,141.59, while the Nasdaq moved up 146.10 points or 1.05 percent to 13,996.10.

Data released by the Labor Department showed annual inflation rate in the U.S. jumped to 2.6 percent in March, from 1.7 percent in February. Economists had expected inflation rate to come in at 2.7 percent.

Core price inflation rose to 1.6 percent year-on-year in March, following a 1.3 percent advance in the previous month.

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.6 percent in March over the previous month, the most since 2012, due largely to the rise in gasoline prices.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced a temporarily halt on the usage of Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) Covid-19 vaccine after six recipients developed a rare blood clotting disorder.

“Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” the FDA said in a joint statement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.” Johnson & Johnson shares shed about 1.25%.

Telso rose more than 8 percent, extending recent gains. Apple, Travelers Companies, Boeing, Salesforce.Com and Microsoft also ended notably higher.

JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are scheduled to announce their quarterly earnings on Wednesday.

In overseas trading, Asian markets rebounded from recent losses, although buying interest was a bit subdued in some of the markets in the region.

European stocks closed slightly higher with investors betting on expectations of fairly decent earnings.