Markets shook off some disappointing manufacturing data and corporate earnings reports, and rebounded from a dip at Tuesday’s opening to end the month of April on an upbeat note.
The S&P 500 broke through to a record high for the second day in a row, closing ahead 0.25% to end at 1597.57, while the Nasdaq, led again by a rally in tech, finished up 0.66% at 3328.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to finish ahead 0.14% to end the day at 14839.80.
The Dow’s rise in April marked its fifth consecutive month of gains, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq clocking in with sixth straight months in the black.
Tuesday’s rally ahead was led by a nearly 3% gain in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) as the company continued to move forward with its planned bond offering by filing a registration to sell the bonds with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank were named as underwriters for the U.S.-record $17 billion offering. An offer date has yet to be determined.
IBM (NYSE:IBM) moved ahead just under 2% to lead the Dow after raising its dividend 12% and increasing its buyback program by $5 billion. IBM would yield roughly 1.8% at current prices.
In earnings news, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) missed first-quarter expectations on both the top and bottom lines, and also lowered its outlook for 2013. Investors sent shares lower by more than 4%, making it the Dow’s biggest loser.
Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) plunged an S&P 500-worst 15% after the company announced a drop in both revenues and earnings for the first quarter, and slashed its dividend by 50%.
Diesel-engine manufacturer Cummins (NYSE:CMI) saw its shares decline nearly 7% after reporting that Q1 earnings fell almost 40% year-over-year weak demand in China and North America.
Heading higher was Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), which improved 6% after announcing it would sell back its 50% stake in European mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse Group — another move to streamline the company’s operations and costs.
Earnings notables for Wednesday include Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Clorox (NYSE:CLX), Visa (NYSE:V) and MasterCard (NYSE:MA).
Three Up
- Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH): Up 10.2% ($2.18) to $23.50.
- 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD): Up 6.9% ($2.47) to $38.24.
- UBS (NYSE:UBS): Up 6% ($1.01) to $17.79.
Three Down
- Allied Nevada Gold (AMEX:ANV): Down 9.6% ($1.13) to $10.70.
- Nii Holdings (NASDAQ:NIHD): Down 6.6% (61 cents) to $8.70.
- Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC): Down 4.9% ($4.05) to $78.36.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he was long AAPL.
