Wall Street opens higher as tech, health stocks rebound

(Reuters) - Wall Street rose at the open on Friday as healthcare and technology stocks, led by Gilead and Apple, rebounded after two weak sessions, and despite data that came in lower-than-expected.

A majority of the 10 major S&P indexes were higher, with the health <.SPXHC> and tech <.SPLRCT> both snapping a 2-day losing streak. Apple shares rose 1.5 percent to $126.94 and was the biggest driver on the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500.

The Nasdaq biotech index <.NBI> was up 2.6 percent, snapping a 5-day losing streak and on track for its best day since April 8.

Gilead led the gains with a 3 percent increase to $103.53 after its quarterly profit nearly doubled, driven by strong sales of its hepatitis C drugs. The stock was the second-largest boost on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

"Its a new month and big institutional investors that allocate on a monthly basis are still moving money into the market," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.

The jump in the equity markets comes despite data showing that construction spending fell in March to a six-month low, while manufacturing growth held at its slowest in almost two years in April.

At 10:35 a.m. EDT (1435 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 122.42 points, or 0.69 percent, at 17,962.94, the S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 13 points, or 0.62 percent, at 2,098.51 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was up 38.01 points, or 0.77 percent, at 4,979.44.

Yum Brands jumped 5.5 percent to hit a record high of $90.70 after Daniel Loeb's Third Point revealed a stake in the company and said the KFC-owner had "turned the page" on its China troubles and forecast a dramatic profit recovery.

CVS climbed 1.6 percent to $100.85 after it reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit.

LinkedIn shares slumped 19.5 percent to $202.93, a day after the professional social network operator slashed its full-year profit forecast.

EnerNOC soared 22.2 percent to $13.50 after the maker of software to regulate power said it partnered with Tesla in its new battery pack venture.

Expedia gained 6.1 percent to $99.95 after its quarterly profit beat analysts' expectations.

S&P 500 earnings for the first quarter now are expected to have risen 1.1 percent, Thomson Reuters data showed, while revenue is expected to have fallen 3.2 percent.

Automakers are expected to report that sales moderated in April after rising the previous month. The data is due at 13:30 p.m. (1730 GMT)

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,786 to 1,015, for a 1.76-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,549 issues rose and 933 fell for a 1.66-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 10 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 20 new highs and 30 new lows.

(Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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