Editor
Market close
By 2:49PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148.19 points, or 0.42%, to 35,605.5, the S&P 500 gained 15.13 points, or 0.33%, to 4,534.76 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 13.52 points, or 0.09%, to 15,115.57.
Eight of the eleven major S&P 500 sector indexes were trading higher, led by healthcare stocks,up 1.6%, and utilities, up 1.5%, while technology shares were down 0.3% after rallying for the previous five sessions.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) rose 3.6% after raising its full-year profit forecast on a rebound in COVID-19 test sales.
Anthem Inc was up 6.6% after raising its full-year earnings forecasts. However, Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) was down slightly as it reported a much smaller-than-expected quarterly sales of its Alzheimer’s drug while it raised its full year earnings forecast.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s global sensation “Squid Game” helped lure more customers than expected, the world’s largest streaming service said as it predicted a packed lineup would further boost signups through the end of the year.
Its shares, however, were down 1.9% after hitting a record high earlier this month and gaining 18.2% so far this year.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc was barely higher ahead of its quarterly results, with costs and margins in focus amid chip shortages and supply chain issues.
The CBOE volatility index, also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, fell to its lowest level since Aug. 13.
Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) gained 2.4% as it added more postpaid phone subscribers than expected in the third quarter, while Baker Hughes Co was down 5.9% as its profit missed expectations.
