U.S. stocks advanced sharply today as technology and financial stocks pulled ahead amid optimism that progress is being made in Greece’s debt talks.
Today's rally, which marks a turnaround following a week-long slump in the stock market, was also due to a weakening dollar, which boosted commodities.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) added 2.1 percent to 2,105.02 at 3:43 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) advanced 1.4 percent to 18,005.61, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) jumped 1.4 percent to 5,081.63.
Optimism toward a potential Greek deal with its creditors rose as people familiar with Germany’s position told Bloomberg News that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government may be satisfied with Greece committing to at least one economic reform sought by creditors to open the door to bailout funds. The European Central Bank was also said to have raised the level of emergency cash available to Greek banks.
MOVERS:
HCC Insurance Holdings (NYSE:HCC) soared 36 percent to $77.19 after Tokio Marine Holdings said it had agreed to buy U.S. specialty insurer for $7.5 billion.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) added 4.4 percent to $674.37 after the provider of Internet television network approved a massive increase in the number of shares the company is authorized to issue, the first step toward a possible stock split.
Qorvo (NASDAQ:QRVO) rose 2.6 percent to $82.00. The mobile technology company's stock will replace tobacco producer Lorillard (NYSE:LO) in the S&P 500 after the close of trading tomorrow. Lorillard is being acquired by Reynolds American.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell 1.6 percent to $21.52. Nomura downgraded the chip maker's stock to "neutral" from "buy," saying a number of factors could pressure demand for Nvidia's video graphics cards in the second half of the year.
NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) gained 1.2 percent to $33.49. RBC Capital upgraded its rating on NetApp to "outperform" from "sector perform," saying the data management company's appointment of a new CEO could cause value to be unlocked.
Oxford Industries (NYSE:OXM) climbed 6.1 percent to $85.96 after the clothing retailer late yesterday reported earnings that topped analyst estimates.
Mattress Firm (NASDAQ:MFRM) slumped 4.7 percent to $58.78. The mattresses retailer reported first quarter profit of 33 cents per share, 6 cents below estimates, with revenue also below forecasts.
Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) increased 4.3 percent to $53.80 after saying it is considering a sale of its automotive business, the latest potential divestiture for the industrial company.
Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) gained 2.9 percent to $90.54. The insurer added $1 billion to its stock buyback program.
Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) climbed 2.6 percent to $67.56. The provider of insurance products will exit the health insurance market and will immediately begin to wind down its major medical operations.
GlobeImmune (NASDAQ:GBIM) tumbled 23.5 percent to $2.93 after saying it will eliminate most of its workforce and evaluate strategic options, less than a year after the biopharmaceutical company went public.
COMMODITIES:
Gold for August delivery on Comex rose 0.8 percent to settle at $1,186.60 an ounce.
July crude climbed 2.1 percent to settle at $61.43 a barrel.
OTHER MARKETS:
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 share index closed up more than 1.7 percent.
Asian stocks closed mostly lower, with Chinese stocks pressured by MSCI's decision to delay the addition of Chinese A-shares to the benchmark MSCI emerging market index.
The dollar fell against the yen and the euro and U.S.
Treasury yields tracked German Bund yields higher.