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US STOCKS-Tech titans Apple and Microsoft propel Wall St rally

Published 04/25/2020, 04:10 AM
Updated 04/25/2020, 04:20 AM
© Reuters.
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* U.S. core capital goods March orders show surprise rise
* Tech sector surges, followed by materials
* Amazon hits record high ahead of report next week
* Indexes end: Dow +1.11%, S&P 500 +1.39%, Nasdaq +1.65%


(Updates to close)
By Noel Randewich
April 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street rallied on Friday, led
higher by Apple and Microsoft as investors finished a turbulent
week of trading and some states prepared to relax
coronavirus-related lockdowns.
Apple AAPL.O and Microsoft MSFT.O each climbed more than
1%, lifting the S&P 500 more than any other companies. The two
tech titans are on tap to report their March-quarter results
next week, giving investors a glimpse at how the pandemic has
affected their global businesses.
Boeing Co BA.N tumbled more than 6% after a report the
planemaker was planning to cut 787 Dreamliner output by about
half.
All of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes moved up, with
information technology .SPLRCT jumping 2.1% and materials
.SPLRCM rallying 1.5%.
Even with Friday's gains, the S&P 500 ended the week lower,
with investors fearful of a deep economic slump following a
near-crash in April business activity and weekly jobless claims
topping 26 million in five weeks.
The index has recovered more than 25% from its March low and
expectations are growing that more businesses will be allowed to
reopen as coronavirus infections showed signs of peaking.
Georgia became the first state to push ahead with its plan
to allow an array of small businesses to reopen on Friday
despite disapproval from President Donald Trump and health
experts. Investors may be overestimating how quickly U.S. businesses
can go back to normal, and the S&P 500 could fall 5% or more as
it becomes evident that resuming normal economic activity may
not happen for months, warned Eric Freedman, chief investment
officer at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in North Carolina.
"We think this is likely to be a little bit of a sideways
market, and we won't be surprised to see a bit of downside
before we see more upside," Freedman said.
Overall, analysts still expect a 15% decline in S&P 500
first-quarter earnings, with profits for the energy sector
estimated to slump more than 60%, raising fears of debt
defaults, layoffs and possible bankruptcies. New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly rose
in March, but the gains are not likely to be sustainable amid
the pandemic, which has abruptly shut down the economy and
contributed to a collapse in crude oil prices. The CBOE volatility index .VIX , known as Wall Street's
fear gauge, was down for the third straight session.
Amazon AMZN.O rose 0.4% to a record high close ahead of
its quarterly report on Thursday. With online shopping booming
as people avoid traditional stores, Amazon's stock market value
has ballooned by over $100 billion since Feb. 19, just before
coronavirus fears gripped Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI jumped 1.11% to end
at 23,775.27 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.39% to
2,836.74.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.65% to 8,634.52.
For the week, the S&P 500 fell 1.3%, the Dow lost 1.9% and
the Nasdaq lost 0.2%.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.65-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.00-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and one new low; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 35 new highs and 14 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.2 billion shares, compared
with a 12.5 billion-share average over the last 20 trading days.

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