April 21st 2014 – S&P 500 Nets Five-Day Winning Streak

Market View:

Not much to write home about today in terms of news, but earnings are in full swing now and there is a whole host of companies reporting this week.  After a turbulent 6 weeks, the market could be getting set to break higher at last.

Market News:

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with the S&P 500 netting its first five-day winning streak since October, as investors looked to a slew of quarterly earnings reports from companies including online film service Netflix.

After a 51-point climb and a 6-point fall, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 40.71 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,449.25, with Pfizer leading blue-chip gains that included 17 of its 30 components after Britian’s Sunday Times cited senior investment bankers and industry sources in reporting the pharmaceutical giant was weighing a $101 billion offer for British rival AstraZeneca

The S&P 500 added 7.04 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,871.89, with health care performing best and utilities the biggest laggard among its 10 industry groups.

The Nasdaq gained 26.03 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,121.55.

For every three stocks falling, roughly four rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where 603 million shares exchanged hands. Composite volume cleared 2.6 billion.

The CBOE Volatility Index, a measure of investor uncertainty, fell 0.3 percent to 13.31.

News Sources:  CNBC and CNN Money