U.S. stocks recovered from a late-afternoon slide to eke out small gains Tuesday, nudging the Nasdaq composite to its second record close in less than a week.
The three major stock indexes, all of which set new highs Friday, rebounded from a slight decline Monday.
Investors focused on the latest batch of company earnings, bidding up health care, telecommunications and consumer-focused companies most.
Energy was the biggest laggard, as crude oil prices closed lower, backtracking after an early rally. Traders also sold off shares in big department store chains after The Gap reported lower sales figures.
With nearly 90 percent of S&P 500 companies having already reported, earnings this quarter have been OK, while revenue growth has not been as bad as expected, said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management.
“We’re slowly turning the corner and exiting (the) earnings recession,” Doll said. “The worst quarter, year-over-year, was the first quarter. While the second quarter wasn’t great, it was less bad. The third and fourth quarters will continue that.”
The Dow Jones industrial average added 3.76 points, or 0.02 percent, to 18,533.05. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.85 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,181.74. The Nasdaq composite index gained 12.34 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,225.48. That’s up less 0.1 percent from its most recent high last Friday.
For the year, the Dow is now up 6.4 percent, while the S&P is up 6.7 percent and the Nasdaq is up 4.4 percent.
The stock market has bounced back in recent weeks, buoyed by strong job growth in the U.S., improved company earnings and persistently low inflation and interest rates.
“That all equals support for the market, but then the reality is where do we go from here?” said Mike Baele, senior portfolio manager with U.S. Bank’s Private Client Reserve.
An early rally in U.S. crude oil prices evaporated. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 25 cents, or 0.6 percent, to close at $42.77 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, slid 41 cents, or 0.9 percent, to close at $44.98 per barrel in London.
The slide in oil weighed on several oil and gas companies. NRG Energy fell 69 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $12.83, while Southwestern Energy shed 51 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $13.61. Chesapeake Energy also declined, losing 20 cents, or 4 percent, to $4.81.
