NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks opened higher on Thursday following two days of losses as investors responded to some positive earnings surprises. Citigroup led financial shares higher after the bank reported better profits that beat analysts’ expectations. Hospital shares slumped after HCA said its earnings would fall short of projections.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,004 as of 10:13 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 62 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,990. The Nasdaq composite rose 39 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,822.
FED FOCUS: The Fed is back in focus as the main driver in financial markets. Though policymakers opted against raising interest rates in September following signs of weakness in China’s economy, most traders thought a December increase was likely. After a run of reports that are showing some weakness in the economy, many investors are now thinking the Fed will hold its benchmark lending rate close to zero for the rest of this year.
EARNINGS WATCH: Investors are also focusing on third-quarter earnings. Citigroup climbed $1.08, or 2 percent, to $51.72 after it reported that its earnings jumped in the third quarter as the bank continued to cut expenses and clean up its books in the wake of the financial crisis.
Netflix slumped $8.97, or 8.1 percent, to $101.24 after it reported late Wednesday that it is hooking fewer U.S. viewers than it hoped. Hospital shares dropped after HCA said that its earnings would likely fall short of analysts’ expectations.