NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are opening higher Friday morning as major indexes continue to set records. Technology companies are rising on company earnings. Health care and household goods companies also trading higher after lagging the market over the last few weeks.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average added 31 points, or 0.2 percent, to 19,645 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,252. The Nasdaq composite gained 29 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,446. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks advanced 4 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,390. All four indexes closed at record highs Thursday and they’re on pace for their biggest weekly gains since the presidential election.
HEALTH CARE HOPPING: Drug companies recovered from two days of losses. Biotechnology companies had been hit hard after President-elect Donald Trump said he wants to reduce drug prices. Biogen jumped $14.46, or 5 percent, to $304 and Botox maker Allergan rose $6.40, or 3.4 percent, to $194.87 while Pfizer added 59 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $31.54.
TECH CLIMBING: Technology stocks, which haven’t moved much since the election a month ago, made substantial gains. Chipmaker Broadcom rose $7.28, or 4.3 percent, to $177.99 after reporting earnings that were far above expectations. The company also doubled its quarterly dividend. Apple gained $1.29, or 1.2 percent, to $113.41. The tech giant also hasn’t done much since the election, and Google parent Alphabet, which has traded lower over the last month, picked up $10.99, or 1.4 percent, to $806.16.
TAKEOFF: United Airlines rose $3.23, or 4.4 percent, to $75.97 and American Air Lines leaped $2.27, or 4.7 percent, to $50.32 after both companies reported encouraging revenue measurements. Other airlines also rose. Delta gained $1.20, or 2.3 percent, to $52.55.
GET SOME REFRESHMENTS: Coca-Cola rose 90 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $41.88. The company said CEO Muhtar Kent will step down May 1 and Chief Operating Officer James Quincey will replace him. Kent has been Coke’s CEO for seven years, and Quincy has been with the company for 20 years.
HARD TIMES: Furniture and housewares company Restoration Hardware tumbled after its fourth-quarter forecast was far weaker than analysts expected. The company said consumers spent less because of the election and it shipped its catalogues later than planned. Sales of its holiday collection have also been disappointing. The stock lost $6.86, or 17.6 percent, to $32.13. It’s down 60 percent this year.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil jumped 69 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $51.53 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, added 37 cents to $54.26 a barrel in London.
BONDS: U.S. government bond prices didn’t move much. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.41 percent. That yield is used to set interest rates on many kinds of loans including mortgages.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 114.90 yen from 114.20 yen. The euro fell to $1.0570 from $1.0603.
OVERSEAS: The CAC 40 in France was up 0.5 percent and the British FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent. Germany’s DAX rose 0.2 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.2 percent as the yen weakened against the dollar. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.4 percent.
South Korea’s Kospi index slid 0.3 percent after legislators voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal. She has denied allegations she colluded with a confidante who extorted companies and manipulated state affairs. South Korea’s prime minister will lead the country until a high court rules if Park must resign.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay