By Canadian Press

Dow industrials edge higher after 5 straight losses

Jan 20, 2017 | 6:30 AM

Stocks edged higher in afternoon trading Friday, on course to recoup most of the market’s losses from the day before. The rebound came about as investors weighed Donald Trump’s swearing in as the 45th president of the United States and the latest batch of company earnings news. Phone companies led the gainers, while health care stocks were down the most.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 61 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 19,794 as of 3:25 p.m. Eastern Time. The Dow is coming off five straight losses. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 4 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,267. The Nasdaq composite index added 7 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 5,547.

THE QUOTE: “This has been a relatively muted trading session we’ve seen today,” said Bill Northey, chief investment officer of the Private Client Group at U.S. Bank. “As we’ve gone through the first part of this year, it’s been people waiting for the event that occurred today with the inauguration. We’re still in a little bit of a lull right now.”

TRUMP’S INAUGURATION: The major stock indexes pulled back slightly as Trump delivered remarks after taking the oath of office. Stocks have slowed in 2017 after surging for several weeks following Election Day on investor optimism that a Trump administration and Republican congress would usher in business-friendly policies. But the possibility of increased tariffs or trade restrictions could also mean drops in profits for big U.S. companies.

Since 1953, starting with President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s inauguration, the S&P 500 has risen an average of 1.6 per cent in the first 100 days of a president’s first term in office, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

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STRONG RESULTS: Skyworks Solutions jumped 12.4 per cent after the semiconductor products maker reported better-than-anticipated quarterly results. The stock was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500, adding $9.75 to $88.21.

BRIGHT OUTLOOK: Consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble rose 2.9 per cent after releasing a strong growth forecast. The stock added $2.48 to $87.18.

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: Citizens Financial Group gained 2.6 per cent after reporting fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations. The stock rose 90 cents to $35.63.

GOOD CALL: AT&T rose 1.2 per cent after the phone company reported strong subscriber numbers. The stock added 48 cents to $41.48.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH: General Electric slid 2.6 per cent after the conglomerate reported fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of analysts’ forecasts. The stock gave up 80 cents to $30.41.

SLOW APPROACH: Bristol-Myers Squibb slumped 11.2 per cent after the drugmaker said it won’t pursue accelerated regulatory approval for a lung cancer treatment. The stock was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 index, shedding $6.23 to $49.26.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 added 0.2 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1 per cent. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.7 per cent after the Chinese government said the economy grew at a 6.8 per cent annual rate in the last quarter, even as full-year growth increased 6.7 per cent, the weakest in three decades. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 per cent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.05, or 2 per cent, to close at $52.42 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added $1.33, or 2.5 per cent, to close at $55.49 a barrel in London.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline gained 3 cents to $1.57 a gallon and heating oil rose 3 cents to $1.65 a gallon. Natural gas slid 16 cents, or 4.9 per cent, to $3.20 per 1,000 cubic feet.

BONDS: Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.47 per cent. Yields have been rising as investors expect inflation to increase.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 114.31 yen from Thursday’s 114.80 yen. The euro rose to $1.0707 from $1.0659. The British pound edged up to $1.2378 from $1.2337.

METALS: Gold dropped $3.40 to settle at $1,204.90 an ounce, while silver fell 3 cents to $17.03 an ounce. Copper slipped a penny to $2.63 a pound.

Alex Veiga, The Associated Press