Publications
Partners
New York - Petroleum-linked shares rallied on Tuesday, lifting the Dow and S&P 500 after US oil prices closed above $50 a barrel for the first time since July.
Dow members Chevron and ExxonMobil climbed 2.1% and 1.5% as supply disruptions in Nigeria propelled the oil market to fresh multi-month highs.
But the Nasdaq finished modestly lower after two biotech companies, Biogen and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, reported disappointing clinical results on treatments to address multiple sclerosis and a neuromuscular disease called MG, respectively. Biogen slumped 12.8% and Alexion 10.9%.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, another Nasdaq-traded drug company, plunged 14.6% after reporting a loss of $373.7 million in the first quarter and projecting full-year earnings well below analyst expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1% at 17 938.28.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 2 112.13, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.1% to 4 961.75.
Ralph Lauren shed 2.4% as it announced sweeping restructuring plans aimed at generating annual cost savings of $180 to $220m from store closures and other measures. It projected lower net sales for fiscal 2017 due to these steps.
Credit Suisse said Ralph Lauren's outlook implies earnings will be weak into fiscal 2018, resulting in lower profits three years in a row. "The way forward .... is long and fraught with challenges," it said in a note.
Online real estate listings company Zillow advanced 5.7% on news it reached a settlement to pay rival Move $130m over accusations that Zillow had misappropriated trade secrets. Some analysts had expected a larger pay out.
Tesla Motors gained 5.3% after billionaire shareholder Ron Baron told CNBC he thought the company could become one of the world's biggest companies in the next decade or two.
FedEx rose 1.0% after hiking its dividend to 40 cents per share from 25 cents.
