NEW YORK — The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 10,700 for the first time in 15 months Thursday as investors bet that the corporate earnings season would overcome a rocky start.
The advance was slightly uneven, with technology stocks rising ahead of quarterly earnings from chipmaker Intel and financials climbing before a profit report from JPMorgan Chase due today.
Havens such as utilities and consumer-staples stocks fell. The Dow industrials rose 30 points, and broader indexes also rose.
The results from Intel after the closing bell more than confirmed traders’ hunch that things were looking up at the leading technology company. Intel’s income, revenues and profit margins all came in well ahead of expectations.
The Dow rose 29.78, or 0.3 percent, to 10,710.55, its highest close since Oct. 1, 2008. Even with a gain of 63.6 percent since March, the index is still down 24.4 percent from its record high of 14,164.53 in October 2007.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.78, or 0.2 percent, to 1,148.46, and the Nasdaq composite rose 8.84, or 0.4 percent, to 2,316.74.
“The economy has already shown signs of improvement, and in investors’ minds the question is how much of that is already priced into the market,” said Brian Lazorishak, portfolio manager at Chase Investment Council in Char lottesville, Va.
The market got off to a good start after SAP, a major business-software maker based in Germany, said its fourth-quarter revenue fell less than forecast. That provided some re assurance that companies are becoming more willing to invest in technology.
Investors are also watching to see whether companies can bolster their earnings with solid revenues instead of just continuing to cut costs.
