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 The day's biggest gainers included Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>, up 2.9
percent at $327.07; Yahoo Inc <YHOO.O>, up 2.3 percent at $33.83;
and LinkedIn Corp <LNKD.N>, up 5.9 percent at $169.10.
The Global X social media index <SOCL.O> rose 2.4 percent to close
at 18.50.
But gains in the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average were capped
by a decline in bank stocks. Goldman Sachs Group <GS.N> fell 1.3
percent to end at $156.56. JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> slipped 0.3
percent to close at $58.85.
Alcoa Inc <AA.N> kicked off the earnings season after the bell on
Tuesday, reporting a first-quarter loss due to a restructuring
charge. But the stock jumped more than 2 percent in extended-hours
trade.
Retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond <BBBY.O> is scheduled to report earnings
on Wednesday, while banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo & Co <WFC.N>
will release results on Friday.
"Ironically, while the S&P is just shy of its all-time high, the
number of S&P constituents that have lowered their quarterly EPS
outlook is also at an all-time high," said Robbert van Batenburg,
director of market strategy at Newedge USA, LLC, in New York.
"While this is a concerning statistic, it has become a tradition for
many companies to gradually manage EPS estimates lower throughout
the quarter and then subsequently 'beat' the — excessively low — consensus estimates."
S&P 500 companies' first-quarter earnings are projected to have
increased just 1 percent from a year ago, Thomson Reuters data
showed. The forecast is down sharply from the start of the year,
when profit growth was estimated at 6.5 percent.
Companies across America are blaming the brutal winter for weak
first-quarter results, but investors are expecting a quick rebound
in the second quarter.
Financial stocks were in the spotlight as regulators finalized the
rule to limit banks' reliance on debt. Under the rule, the eight
biggest U.S. banks must raise a total of about $68 billion in
capital by 2018 to comply with a new rule designed to prevent
another financial crisis. The rules would apply to JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup <C.N>, Bank of
America <BAC.N>, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley <MS.N>,
Bank of New York Mellon <BK.N> and State Street <STT.N>.
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Biotechnology stocks, which had been punished in the recent selloff,
seesawed between gains and losses on Tuesday. The Nasdaq
biotechnology index <.NBI> fell 0.4 percent. Gilead Sciences Inc <GILD.O>
was among the S&P 500's biggest decliners, down 3.1 percent at
$70.01.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 10.27 points or 0.06
percent, to end at 16,256.14. The S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 6.92 points
or 0.38 percent, to finish at 1,851.96. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC>
added 33.234 points or 0.81 percent, to close at 4,112.986.
Tuesday's advance followed the S&P 500's biggest three-day retreat
since late January and the Nasdaq's steepest three-day drop since
November 2011.
The benchmark S&P 500 index rose above its 50-day moving average
around 1,840, a key support level. The index has managed to stay
above 1,840 several times over the past month.
In contrast to the day's positive trend, shares of Gigamon Inc <GIMO.N>
plunged 33.9 percent to close at $17.31. The maker of network
traffic management software estimated lower-than-expected
first-quarter revenue.
About 6.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, slightly
below the 6.8 billion average so far this month, according to data
from BATS Global Markets.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a
ratio of about 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, 17 stocks rose for nearly
every nine that fell.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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