US stocks rally after two down days; Dow +1.3%
US stocks pushed higher Thursday, rallying after two down days on generally solid corporate earnings and a gain in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 225.48 points (1.31 percent) to 17,416.85. The index fell nearly 500 points in the prior two sessions.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 19.09 (0.95 percent) to 2,021.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 45.41 (0.98 percent) at 4,683.41.
Analysts cited a modest rise in oil prices as a source of calm after the commodity fell sharply on Wednesday.
"Investors are worried that falling commodity prices could lead to a deflationary period," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
Cardillo said earnings have been "pretty much okay" following a stream of reports encompassing a wide array of economic sectors.
Dow member McDonald's jumped 5.1 percent after the struggling fast-food giant announced Don Thompson would step down as chief executive and would be replaced by company veteran and chief brand officer Steve Easterbrook.
Dow member Boeing jumped 5.8 percent, gaining for a second day after earnings Wednesday bested expectations. Apple also had a second day on the upswing after good earnings, rising 3.1 percent.
Chinese online giant Alibaba slumped 8.8 percent after sales for the December quarter came in at $4.22 billion. That was 40 percent above the year-ago period, but below the $4.45 billion projected by analysts.
The company also hit back at a Chinese regulator that accused Alibaba of selling fake good and labeled its executives "arrogant."
Yahoo, which Tuesday announced plans to spin off a large Alibaba stake, fell 5.9 percent.
Chipmaker Qualcomm plummeted 10.3 percent after the company lowered its profit forecast, citing greater competition in China, among other factors.
Ford Motor rose 2.7 percent after fourth-quarter earnings bested expectations and the company forecast higher profits in 2015 after a series of costly product launches in 2014.
ConocoPhillips advanced 0.4 percent on news it cut its 2015 capital budget to $11.5 billion from $13.5 billion due to low oil prices. The smaller Occidental Petroleum gained 2.4 percent following a similar announcement.
Other companies to report earnings included Colgate-Palmolive (+6.0 percent), Dow Chemical (+4.6 percent) and Facebook (+2.3 percent).
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 1.76 percent from 1.72 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.33 percent from 2.29 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
