Markets were up across the board with all the major indices reporting gains on a slew of better-than-expected earnings reports from several key players, as well as some other major positive developments.
The bump comes off a week that saw a significant rebound from the week prior, during which the S&P backed off its all-time high amid a major sell-off in biotech and tech. With the day’s gains, those losses have been largely erased. The S&P is once again nearing its all time high if 1,890, achieved only three weeks previous.
Tech-heavy Nasdaq was the big winner on the day, with Micron Technology (MU) leading the way, continuing its fantastic run with a 5.9 percent gain. Facebook was up 3.9 percent on news of a mobile ad network that could greatly increase revenue. Halliburton (HAL) led the oil and gas sector with a better than expected earnings call, gaining 3.32 percent.
The Dow uptick was led by healthcare. The biggest gain from Pfizer (PFE) who rose 2.02 percent on eventually downplayed rumors that the company had been in talks to buy major competitor AstraZeneca Plc. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Merck (MRK) also rose on the day.
Though the trading day did not incorporate the news, Netflix (NFLX) was up over 7 percent aftermarket on a fantastic earnings report.
Results for April 21, 2014
- Standard & Poor’s 500: +.38 percent to 1,872 points
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: +.25 percent to 16,499 points
- NASDAQ Exchange: +.65 percent to 4,122 points
Our Top Stories
- Apple Inc. (AAPL) received quite a bit of attention when believers in the Loss Nech monster c;laimed they had discovered proof of the Scottish sea creature using Apple Maps.
- Tesla Motors (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk revealed he wants to build a plant in China, ostensibly to eliminate import taxes, but possibly to get closer to the country’s abundant, key raw materials.
- Equities.com Quantitative Research analyst Nicholas Bhandari discusses how a derivatives market for bitcoin could help minimize the cryptocurrency’s notorious volatility.
- IPO expert Francis Gaskins has the skinny on this week’s three IPOs: Scynexis ($SCYX), Quotient ($QTNT), and Aldeyra Therapeutics ($ALDX).
- Dennis Miller discusses the 10 most surefire ways to screw up your retirement. Spoiler: borrowing a bunch of money before you stop working is a bad idea.
- Senior Editor Joel Anderson makes the case that returning to the gold standard, as many anarcho-capitalists and other libertarians often argue we should, is a ludicrous idea.
Stocks
- Cytokinetics (CYT) appeared to have rode a wave of positive market dynamics for biotech, rising nearly 13 percent by trading day’s end, though other technical factors might be responsible for the uptick.
- George Brooks says this week is a very important one for stocks, as he still thinks we’re due for a “spring rebound.”
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