Wall St gains on tech shares as IBM results awaited

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, as investors anticipated another round of strong corporate earnings, sending technology shares higher ahead of quarterly results from IBM (IBM.NY)

International Business Machines Corp helped the market shake off earlier malaise that had kept indexes flat. IBM, which reports results after the closing bell, was the Dow's biggest lift, up 2.5 percent at $109.92.

Shares of Qualcomm Inc lifted the Nasdaq after RBC Capital Markets started coverage of the cellphone chip supplier with an "outperform" rating. Qualcomm gained 1.3 percent to $46.66.

JPMorgan Chase & Co continued the week's streak of positive results, posting a strong quarterly profit before the bell but warning of deteriorating consumer credit. The bank's stock was underwater for most of the day, but edged higher late in the day with the rest of the market. JPMorgan added 0.1 percent to $36.31.

"Investors have ratcheted up expectations for earnings almost across the board, so that optimism is still there even if today's action is rather muted," said Paul Baiocchi, senior market strategist at Delta Global Advisors in San Francisco.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 65.91 points, or 0.76 percent, to 8,682.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 5.96 points, or 0.64 percent, to 938.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 18.39 points, or 0.99 percent, at 1,880.96.

The gains put the market on course for a fourth-straight day of gains.

WhatsAppFacebookTwitterLinkedinBeloudBluesky