Financials Pace Record Breaking Day On Markets – Acadiana Business Index

Stocks returned to their winning ways. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

• The Dow was up for the 18th consecutive Tuesday as it rose 123 points to 15215. The S&P 500 Index gained over 16 points to close at a new all-time high of 1650. The NASDAQ finished at its best level since October 2000 as it advanced 23 points to 3462. The biggest jump since October 2010 in a gauge of small business optimism set the positive tone.
• Signs of limited inflation pressure provided additional support after import prices declined in April by the most since December 2012.
• Virtually every sector finished in positive territory. Financials were the best performing group as Bank of America rallied 2.6% to $13.32 and Citigroup gained 2.4% to $50.12. Energy erased Monday’s losses and also helped pace the advance as Chevron rose 1.7% to $124.88 and ConocoPhillips increased 1.7% to $63.08. Technology stocks lagged behind as index heavyweight Apple lost 2.5% to $443.62 following a report that its global market share in smartphones shrank in the first quarter.
• The tail end of earnings season will also garner attention. Agilent Technologies is scheduled to post its profit tally after the close and Wednesday’s docket includes notable reports from Deere, Macy’s and Cisco Systems.
• NYSE Composite volume totaled over 3.4 billion shares. On the NYSE, advancers beat decliners by 2-1 on issues and by 4-1 on volume. The NASDAQ was 2-1 positive on issues and nearly 3-1 positive on volume.
• In fixed-income, Treasuries were down for the fourth straight session. The 10-year note fell 12/32 to yield 1.97% and the 30-year bond lost a full point to yield 3.18%.

For the complete report, click Ken's Market Report.