NEW YORK — The stock market bounced back Friday as investors picked up companies that had dropped earlier in the week. Major indexes recovered nearly all their losses from a fall the day before.
“It’s an odd day in the markets,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank. The news out Friday was mostly disappointing, he said. Big corporations’ earnings reports weren’t all that good.
Expedia was an exception. The online travel company turned in sales that topped Wall Street’s estimates, driving its stock up $7.46, or 8 percent, to $101.69.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 22.78 points, or 1.1 percent, to finish at 2,108.29. That’s after dropping 1 percent the day before.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 183.54 points, or 1 percent, to close at 18,024.06, while the Nasdaq composite rose 63.97 points, or 1.3 percent, to 5,005.39.
Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital Group, cautioned against reading too much into a day with light trading. “The rally is fun,” he said, “but it doesn’t mean much.”
The Nasdaq lost 1.7 percent for the week as investors sold many of the technology companies that have fared well this year. Strong gains for Apple and other tech stocks helped the Nasdaq finally topple a record high April 24. So, what changed?
Smith said Apple’s earnings had something to do with it.
Apple is big enough that its moves can swing the Nasdaq higher or lower. Last week, investors bought Apple’s stock in anticipation of another blowout earnings report when the tech giant reported results Monday. In the three days afterward, Apple lost 6 percent.
Ablin said investors are wrestling with a slew of diverging trends. Recent reports have raised concerns about the economy’s strength. On Wednesday, the government said it nearly stopped growing in the first three months of the year. To some investors, that’s not such bad news: Weak economic growth could lead the Federal Reserve to postpone its plans to raise a key borrowing rate. Record low interest rates have helped the stock market soar since the financial crisis.
“Economic data has recently been disappointing,” Ablin said, “but that keeps the Fed offstage.”
