NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are rising Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average closer to 22,000 points. Banks are posting some of the biggest gains. Royal Caribbean Cruises is jumping after it raised its annual profit forecast following a strong quarter, and utility company Scana is climbing after it said it plans to end construction of two nuclear reactors in South Carolina. Under Armour is tumbling after the athletic apparel company lowered its revenue projections and said it will cut jobs and expenses. Oil prices turned lower.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 6 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,376 as of 12:20 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 95 points, or 0.4 percent, to 21,986. The Nasdaq composite added 10 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,358. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks remained at 1,424.
GETTING PAID: Goldman Sachs picked up $2.62, or 1.2 percent, to $227.95 and Bank of America added 29 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $24.41. Investment firm BlackRock gained $3.36 to $429.89.
Payments processor Visa rose $1.20, or 1.2 percent, to $100.76. Mastercard, which processes debit and credit card payments, rose $1.42, or 1.1 percent, to $129.22. The gains for those companies helped technology stocks move higher. So did solid quarterly results from Xerox, which jumped $1.07, or 3.5 percent, to $31.74.
SMOOTH SEAS: Cruise line operator Royal Caribbean beat analysts’ forecasts and raised its estimates for the year. It climbed $3.91, or 3.5 percent, to $116.98 and competitor Carnival Cruise also advanced 78 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $67.57.
SPRINT SPRINGS: Sprint climbed Tuesday after it said it’s open to combining with another phone company or a cable company. CEO Marcelo Claure said Sprint can survive on its own, but it will be in a better position if it strikes the right deal because it will be able to save money. The fourth-larger U.S. wireless carrier also reported its first quarterly profit in three years as it cut cost and added more wireless subscribers.
Sprint was on pace for its biggest gain of the year as it rose 82 cents, or 10.2 percent, to $8.81. Elsewhere, T-Mobile USA climbed $1.61, or 2.6 percent, to $63.27 and Verizon Communications gained $1.11, or 2.3 percent, to $49.51.
POWERING DOWN: Utility company Scana continued to rise. On Monday the company said it plans to end construction of two nuclear reactors that customers have already paid billions to build. It will brief regulators Tuesday on its plans. SCANA’s South Carolina Electric & Gas unit and state-owned Santee Cooper say they have already spent $10 billion on the project and that it could cost $20 billion to finish the work. The project has been shrouded in doubt since Westinghouse, the primary contractor, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.
Scana rose $2.65, or 4.1 percent, to $67.02 following a 5 percent gain on Monday.
SLIMMING DOWN: Under Armour cut its annual revenue forecast as sharp discounts continue to affect its business in North America. The Baltimore company said it will eliminate 280 jobs and is aiming to reduce $110 million to $130 million in annual spending through a restructuring plan. Under Armour sank $1.59, or 7.9 percent, to $18.43, and it’s down by more than half over the last 12 months. Rival Nike added 35 cents to $59.40.
STUCK IN NEUTRAL: Industrial companies struggled. Engine maker Cummins reported a weaker-than-expected profit due to higher warranty costs even though it reported strong sales and raised its annual outlook. The stock lost $13.60, or 8.1 percent, to $154.35. Power management company Eaton disclosed a smaller-than-expected profit and fell $5.02, or 6.4 percent, to $73.23.
On Monday Cummins and Eaton started a joint venture that will make automated transmissions for heavy-duty and medium-duty commercial vehicles. They announced that plan in April.
AUTO FAILS: General Motors and Ford declined as auto makers were expected to report their seventh consecutive month of lower sales. GM’s sales fell 15 percent in July and Ford’s decreased 7.5 percent. U.S. new vehicle sales reached a record of 17.55 million in 2016, and Ford’s U.S. sales chief Mark LaNeve said at their current pace, sales will be around 17 million this year.
GM fell $1.30, or 3.6 percent, to $34.68 and Ford declined 29 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $10.93.
ENERGY: Oil prices plunged after a long rally. U.S. crude shed $1.50, or 3 percent, to $48.67 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped $1.53, or 2.9 percent, to $51.19 a barrel in London. Oil prices climbed over the last six days to reach two-month highs.
BONDS: Bond prices moved higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipped to 2.26 percent from 2.30 percent.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 110.36 yen from 110.24 yen. The euro slid to $1.1801 from $1.1831.
OVERSEAS: The DAX in Germany DAX rose 1.1 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 added 0.7 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.3 percent while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.8 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.8 percent.
___
AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/marley%20jay