US stock indexes head higher in morning trading; oil slides

By Alex Veiga, The Associated Press

U.S. stock indexes moved higher in morning trading Friday as investors pored over earnings reports from several big lenders. Banks and other financial companies were up the most. Utilities were the biggest laggard. Energy stocks were wavering between small gains and losses as crude oil prices headed lower.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 19,910 as of 11:28 a.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 6 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,277. The Nasdaq composite index added 32 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5,580. Small-company stocks rose more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index jumped 14 points, or 1 per cent, to $1,375.

BANKING ON EARNINGS: Three major U.S. banks reported quarterly results early Friday that beat Wall Street’s forecasts. JPMorgan Chase added 97 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $87.21, while Bank of America gained 28 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $23.19. Wells Fargo rose $1.33, or 2.4 per cent, to $55.83. A jump in bond yields and interest rates also helped give lenders a lift. Regions Financial gained 41 cents, or 2.8 per cent, to $14.84.

SLASH & GAIN: Pandora Media climbed 6.9 per cent after the streaming music company issued a strong revenue forecast. The company also said it will cut about 7 per cent of its jobs to reduce costs. The stock added 82 cents to $12.83.

THANKS, UNCLE SAM: DexCom vaulted 24 per cent after the medical device maker said Medicare has decided to cover a continuous blood glucose monitoring system it makes for diabetes patients. The stock picked up $16.21 to $83.82.

RATE IMPACT: HomeStreet fell 4.8 per cent after the real estate lender forecast disappointing fourth-quarter results as mortgage applications dropped because of rising interest rates. The stock slid $1.47 to $29.48.

NO FUN: GameStop was down 9.2 per cent after the video game retailer said holiday revenue dropped because of discounts and weak sales of new “Call of Duty” and “Titanfall” games. The stock fell $2.27 to $22.46.

THE ECONOMY: Traders got a batch of encouraging news on the U.S. economy Friday. The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.6 per cent in December as online shopping and auto sales increased. Separately, the Labor Department said a gauge of producer prices, which tracks price changes before they reach consumers, rose 1.6 per cent in the 12 months ended in December. That’s the biggest 12-month gain since September 2014.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 0.8 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 was 1.2 per cent higher. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5 per cent. Earlier in Asia, some markets finished lower on disappointing trade data from China. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.5 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.5 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slumped 0.8 per cent.

ENERGY: Benchmark crude oil was down 64 cents, or 1.2 per cent, at $52.37 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oil sold internationally, was down 55 cents, or 1 per cent, at $55.46 a barrel in London.

BONDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.42 per cent from 2.36 per cent late Thursday.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 115.14 yen from 114.63 yen on Thursday. The euro slipped to $1.0614 from $1.0626.

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