Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Wall Street rebounds on J&J; tech mostly rallies late

Encouraging results from health care and materials companies lifted US stocks, but weak earnings from Goldman Sachs limited gains in a market skeptical of the growth outlook.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 65.16 points, or 0.53 percent, to 12,266.75 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 7.48 points, or 0.57 percent, to 1,312.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 9.59 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,744.97.

Upbeat corporate results helped European shares to rebound from hefty falls a day earlier, led by strong sales figures from luxury goods groups.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.4 percent at 1,117.10 points, recouping some losses after hitting a three-week closing low on Monday when Standard & Poor cut its credit outlook on the United States to negative.

Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.5 percent after the yen climbed in the wake of Standard & Poor's warning that it might cut the United States' credit rating but market participants said they did not see any long-term impact on Tokyo equities.

The benchmark Nikkei average fell 1.5 percent, or 142.66 points at 9,413.99, while the broader Topix shed 1.4 percent to 825.07. By comparison, US stock indices ended around 1 percent lower on Monday.