S&P 500 Closes Higher For The Eighth Consecutive Day

S&P 500 Closes Higher For The Eighth Consecutive Day

The S&P 500 closed higher for the eighth consecutive day after Citigroup (NYSE:C) reported a strong adjusted quarterly profit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq also closed higher at the end of trading on Monday.

However, trading volume was the lightest for the year in a full day of trading. Citigroup shares increased by two percent as it reached $51.81 following the increase in its adjusted quarterly profit.

Stocks have gradually increased since the start of the year although a sell-off was noted in May following the comments of Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve, which indicated that the monthly stimulus of the Fed will be reduced. The S&P 500 has increased by 18 percent since the start of the year.

According to Cam Albright of Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, the lowered expectations before the earnings season may have provided the cushion in the market. Shares of Leap Wireless International Inc (NASDAQ:LEAP) increased by twofold following reports that the company will be acquired by AT&T (NYSE:T).

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index increased by 0.14 percent or 2.31 points as it went up to 1,682.50. Dow Jones and Nasdaq also increased by 0.13 percent and 0.21 percent respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 15,484.26 while Nasdaq closed at 3,607.49.

Earnings of companies are expected to be the main focus for the week as analysts expect second-quarter earnings of S&P 500 companies to increase by 2.8 percent.

Analysts expect earnings growth to increase in the second half of the year. The earnings of around 67 percent of companies have already surpassed expectations of analysts. However, the revenue results continue to be a source of concern for analysts.

S&P 500 industrial shares increased following the confidence of airlines on the safety of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner despite the accident involving one jet a week ago.

The utilities sector of the S&P 500 performed better than other sectors with Public Service Enterprise Group Inc (NYSE:PEG) and FirstEnergy Corp ((NYSE:FE) among the best performers in the sector.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday July 17 2013, 2:53 AM EST. Ref: Reuters. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Finance. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0