Stocks edged higher Tuesday, with the S&P 500 extending its recent rally to a fresh high and the Dow surpassing the 15,000 milestone, boosted by better-than-expected economic data from Germany and a gain in Japan.
However, the Nasdaq turned negative, with major tech giants including Apple,Google and Microsoft in the red as investors took profit following the recent rally in the tech sector.
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| Name | Price | Change | %Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJIA | Dow Jones Industrial Average | 15019.95 | 51.06 | 0.34% | |
| S&P 500 | S&P 500 Index | 1622.09 | 4.59 | 0.28% | |
| NASDAQ | Nasdaq Composite Index | 3392.47 | -0.50 | -0.01% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed above 15,000 to hit an all-time intraday high of 15,013.43. Caterpillar and JPMorgan led the blue-chip gainers. The index first broke above the milestone on Friday, but has yet to close above the level.
Interestingly, the Dow is looking to end higher for the 17th consecutive Tuesday. This is the first time in history that the index has posted such a streak.
The S&P 500 edged higher, while the Nasdaq reversed its gains. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded below 13.
So far this year, the Dow has surged an impressive 14 percent, while the S&P andNasdaq have soared more than 13 percent each.
Most key S&P sectors were higher, led by industrials and energy. Techs were in the red.
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"The market is still exhibiting good karma from last week's employment report," said Cam Albright, director of asset allocation at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors. "Some of the news that's coming out of Europe has been a bit more positive as well – the German factory orders report was helpful."
European shares were higher following some better-than-expected earnings and after German manufacturing orders for March rose 2.2 percent, topping expectations for a decline.
Meanwhile, European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said the central bank is closely watching incoming data and is ready to take further action, if needed, to address economic weakness.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the country's benchmark Nikkei index reached its highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, boosted by the weak yen, which has lost more than 1 percent since Thursday.
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"The U.S. economy and markets have led the way and now we're seeing better performance out of Europe and some of the Asian markets this month, so those things are all positive," added Albright. "Valuations are not overly stretched either, so from that perspective, it's not inappropriate to add to positions."
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Brad Rogoff, Barclays; Michael Farr, Farr, Miller & Washington; and Steven Rattner, Willett Advisors, discuss the pros and cons of investing in bonds versus equities.
Widely-followed hedge fund manager David Einhorn said he had added to his investment position in Apple. The stock, however, turned negative following the news as investors took the announcement as an opportunity to cash in on the iPhone maker's recent run.
Among earnings, Discovery Communications posted better-than-expected quarterly results and forecast annual revenue above estimates.
DirecTV rallied after the satellite TV provider blew past Wall Street estimates, helped by better-than-expected growth in Latin America.
OfficeMax posted lower-than-expected earnings, hurt by continued weak sales of technology products and fewer customers. But shares gained after the office supply retailer announced a special dividend of $1.50 a share. The company is awaiting regulatory approval for its pending merger with Office Depot.
Dow component Walt Disney is scheduled to post results after the closing bell. Separately, the conglomerate said it is teaming up with videogames publisherElectronic Arts to develop games based on the "Star Wars" movies. EA is also slated to report earnings after the closing bell, in addition to Symantec,WholeFoods and TripAdvisor.
Market Rotating Into Cyclicals: Pro
David Lutz, managing director and head of ETF trading at Stifel Nicolaus, explains why the market is starting to see a rotation into cyclical and why a pullback would only be short-lived.
More than 80 percent of S&P 500 companies have posted quarterly results so far, with 68 percent topping earnings expectations and 22 percent missing forecasts, according to Reuters. If all remaining companies post numbers in line with estimates, earnings will be up 5.1 percent on last year.
But on average, sales have come in 1 percent below estimates, with only 45 percent of companies beating their revenue projections.
On the economic front, the Federal Reserve will release its consumer credit report for March at 3 p.m. New York time. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a $15.0 billion gain, after an $18.4 billion increase in February.
And the Treasury is scheduled to auction $32 billion in 3-year notes with the results available shortly after 1pm ET.
—By CNBC's JeeYeon Park. Follow JeeYeon on Twitter: @JeeYeonParkCNBC
On Tap This Week:
TUESDAY: 3-yr note auction, consumer credit, Noka annual mtg; Earnings from Walt Disney, Electronic Arts, Marathon Oil, Symantec, Trip Advisor, WholeFoods, Live Nation, WebMD, Zillow
WEDNESDAY: MBA mortgage applications, Fed's Stein speaks, oil inventories, 10-yr note auction, BofA shareholder mtg; Earnings from Toyota, Liberty Interactive, Liberty Media, AOL, Sodastream, Wendy's, Activision Blizzard, Green Mountain Coffee, Groupon, Monster BEverage, NewsCorp, Tesla Motors, Transocean
THURSDAY: BoE announcement, Fed's Lacker speaks, jobless claims, wholesale inventories, natural gas inventories, 30-yr bond auction, Fed's Plosser speaks, Fed balance sheet/money supply, Barclays's investor mtg, Ford annual mtg, weekly rail numbers, chain store sales; Earnings from Dean Foods, Dish Network, Sony, Nvidia, Priceline.com
FRIDAY: Fed's Evans speaks, Bernanke speaks, Fed's George speaks, Treasury budget, G-8 mtg; Earnings from ArcelorMittal, GoldFields
WEDNESDAY: MBA mortgage applications, Fed's Stein speaks, oil inventories, 10-yr note auction, BofA shareholder mtg; Earnings from Toyota, Liberty Interactive, Liberty Media, AOL, Sodastream, Wendy's, Activision Blizzard, Green Mountain Coffee, Groupon, Monster BEverage, NewsCorp, Tesla Motors, Transocean
THURSDAY: BoE announcement, Fed's Lacker speaks, jobless claims, wholesale inventories, natural gas inventories, 30-yr bond auction, Fed's Plosser speaks, Fed balance sheet/money supply, Barclays's investor mtg, Ford annual mtg, weekly rail numbers, chain store sales; Earnings from Dean Foods, Dish Network, Sony, Nvidia, Priceline.com
FRIDAY: Fed's Evans speaks, Bernanke speaks, Fed's George speaks, Treasury budget, G-8 mtg; Earnings from ArcelorMittal, GoldFields
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