NEW YORK —The stock market closed just short of a record on Monday as investors assessed some positive earnings reports.
Cognizant Technology Solutions, a technology consulting business, was the biggest gainer in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index after it reported earnings that beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts and raised its outlook for earnings and sales for the year. Tyson Foods, the maker of Jimmy Dean sausage products, was another company whose stock gained after posting strong earnings.
Corporate earnings for the first quarter surpassed analysts’ expectations, growing rather than contracting. That’s helping boost demand for stocks, keeping alive a bull market that is now in its seventh year.
“Earnings haven’t been as bad as people were expecting … the picture isn’t too bad,” said Sean Lynch, co-head of Global Equity Strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 6.20 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,114.49, within three points of its all-time high reached on April 24. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 46.34 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,070.40. The Nasdaq composite gained 11.54 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,016.93.
Stocks also got a lift from the first gain in factory orders since last summer. Orders rose in March for the first time since last July, breaking a long stretch of weakness in manufacturing. The increase of 2.1 percent followed seven monthly declines, the Commerce Department reported
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