NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are rising Tuesday as the price of oil soars, sending energy companies higher. Big technology stocks, which have been mostly left out of a post-election rally, turned sharply higher. Microsoft, Facebook and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, all posted solid gains.
Bank stocks, which had soared over the past week, gave back some of those gains. Bond prices edged higher, sending long-term interest rates slightly lower. Bond prices had fallen sharply since the election over worries that President-elect Donald Trump’s spending plans would lead to higher inflation.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 38 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,830 as of 11:20 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,171. The Nasdaq composite jumped 44 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,262.
ENERGY: Energy companies led the market higher as oil prices jumped. Benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.67, or 3.9 percent, to $44.99 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose $1.60, or 3.6 percent, to $46.03 a barrel in London. Among energy stocks, Exxon Mobil rose $1.24, or 1.5 percent, to $86.52 and Schlumberger gained $1.91, or 2.4 percent, to $80.62. Apache added $2.94, or 5 percent, to $61.87.
CHANGING COURSE: Tuesday’s trading was a partial reversal of the moves investors have made since the presidential election one week ago. Tech stocks have been losing ground recently, but Microsoft picked up $1.38, or 2.4 percent, to $59.11 and Nvidia rose $2.94, or 3.5 percent, to $86.58.
Bond prices rose and yields, which have reached their highest levels this year, slipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note declined to 2.23 percent from 2.27 percent. Companies that pay large dividends, like phone companies, also changed course and rose.
Banks returned some of their recent gains. Goldman Sachs fell $2.28, or 1.1 percent, to $206.90 and JPMorgan Chase fell $1.46, or 1.8 percent, to $78.05.
SHOPPING DEAL: Equity One will combine with Regency Center in a deal that combines two real estate investment trusts that own shopping centers. The two companies have more than 400 properties, most of them anchored by grocery stores. Equity One climbed $2.74, or 9.8 percent, to $30.61 while Regency Center lost $1.08, or 1.5 percent, to $68.78.
BUFFET BUYS AIRLINES: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett bought stock in United Continental and American Airlines. The investor has avoided the volatile industry in the past, but disclosed stakes in each company in a form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. United picked up $1.17, or 1.9 percent, to $64.11 and American gained 93 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $44.33.
RETAIL DETAILS: Retail sales climbed 0.8 percent in October as consumers spent more money on cars and home and garden supplies, among other types of products. Retail sales over last two months have been the strongest in more than two years, which shows consumers are still spending and the economy might grow more quickly in the fourth quarter than economists expect.
The report showed continued gains for online retailers. Amazon jumped $18.74, or 2.6 percent, to $737.81 while department stores traded lower as they continued to lose sales.
JD DEALING: Chinese e-commerce company JD.com climbed after it reported strong quarterly results. The company also said it might reorganize its JD Finance unit, which runs its internet finance business. JD.com said expects to sell its stake in the company and that JD Finance will be owned solely by Chinese investors. The stock climbed $2.77, or 11.7 percent, to $26.48.
UNPRINTABLE: 3D printer maker Stratasys tumbled after its profit and sales fell far short of estimates. The stock shed $2.56, or 12.5 percent, to $17.94.
GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING: Auto parts retailer Advance Auto Parts reported better sales than investors were expecting, and its stock leaped $23.26, or 16.3 percent, to $166.17.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 108.83 yen from 108.51 yen. The euro rose to $1.0745 from $1.0726.
FOREIGN MARKETS: Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.6 percent and the CAC-40 in France was 0.3 percent higher. Germany’s DAX gained 0.1 percent. Seoul’s Kospi shed 0.3 percent and the Nikkei 225 in Japan finished little changed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5 percent.
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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