NEW YORK - The stock market closed mostly higher Thursday, helped by positive earnings out of several large U.S. companies including Apple and construction equipment-maker Caterpillar.
The market gains were modest, however, as investors turned their eyes back to Russia and Ukraine, where geopolitical tensions were heating up once again. Some earnings reports, such as 3M and Facebook, also failed to impress investors.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,878.61 and the Nasdaq composite rose 21.37 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,148.34. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 16,501.65, unchanged on the day.
It was the seventh time in the past eight days that the S&P 500 has closed higher. Despite the recent upward momentum, traders remain nervous.
“Everyone is a little apprehensive as we move higher, waiting for the next shoe to drop that’s going to make the market head lower,” said Jonathan Corpina, a floor trader at the New York Stock Exchange with Meridian Equity Partners. “The market isn’t in a healthy mentality at the moment.”
Apple was among the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 and helped push the Nasdaq composite up more than the rest of the broader market.
Apple rose $43.02, or 8 percent, to $567.77 after the California-based company reported a profit of $11.62 a share, beating forecasts. Apple also announced it would increase its share buyback program from $60 billion to $90 billion, raise its quarterly dividend and split its stock seven-for-one.
Dow member Caterpillar rose $1.90, or 1.8 percent, to $105.28. The construction equipment manufacturer said its quarterly earnings rose 5 percent from a year ago. Caterpillar also raised its 2014 profit forecast. The company earned an adjusted profit of $1.61 a share, well ahead of the $1.21 per share expected by analysts.
Another Dow member, 3M, wasn’t as fortunate in the first quarter as Caterpillar.
The maker of industrial coatings and Post-it notes fell $1.34, or 1 percent, to $136.65 after the company’s results missed analysts’ expectations. The Minnesota-based conglomerate earned $1.79 a share, a penny shy of forecasts.
Despite the mostly positive news from U.S. companies, overseas worries put a damper on the market.
Russian officials said they would hold new military exercises along the Ukrainian border, hours after a deadly encounter between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the Ukrainian attack as a “punitive operation” and threatened unspecified consequences.
Tom di Galoma, who runs fixed-income trading for ED&F Man Capital, said the Ukraine-Russia conflict was sending some investors into safer assets, such as U.S. Treasurys and gold.
The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 2.68 percent as bond prices rose. Gold rose $6, or 0.5 percent, to $1.290.60 an ounce.
“One day we think there’s a resolution, and the next the situation out of Ukraine and Russia turns a little alarming,” Corpina said.
Business, Pages 30 on 04/25/2014