stock markets

Strong earnings reports boosted U.S. stock markets Tuesday. The recovery comes after five straight days of losses for U.S. indexes. It’s not uncommon for stocks to reverse course after several days in one direction, and investors say the market is still lacking the foundation for an extended rally.

Faced with a drop in stock prices in Asia, Europe and the U.S., investors moved into traditional safe havens. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 2.22 percent from 2.26 percent on Friday. The price of gold rose 1 percent. Dividend-heavy stocks, like utilities, also gained.

Disappointing quarterly results and outlooks from several companies pulled the major stock indexes sharply lower on Friday. New signs pointing to a slowing of China’s economy also added to investor jitters, bringing down the price of oil and other commodities.

Disappointing earnings and outlooks from several big companies, including American Express, Caterpillar and 3M helped drag U.S. stocks lower for a third day in a row. The losing streak has nudged the Dow Jones industrial average into negative territory for the year.

The major stock indexes declined from the get-go Wednesday as traders reacted to weaker showings late Tuesday from Microsoft, Yahoo and Apple.

Stocks headed lower early on Tuesday as investors reacted to IBM’s latest quarterly results, released late Monday. The market stayed in the red the rest of the day.

Technology stocks rose more than the rest of the market on Monday. Gold slumped to its lowest level in five years, pulling mining stocks lower. A nearly three-week slump in oil prices deepened. Investors had their eye on company earnings news after weeks of fretting over Greece’s debt crisis and a steep slide in China’s stock market.

A slow market on Friday marked a quiet end to an eventful week. Markets around the world rallied on Monday after Greece and its creditors agreed to a broad framework for a new loan program. Stronger quarterly earnings reports from a range of big U.S. companies, including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, added more encouragement.

Stocks rose from the start on Thursday, following a jump in major European indexes, as strong second-quarter results from Netflix, eBay, Citigroup and other companies fed the buying. By the end of the day, nine of 10 industry sectors of the Standard and Poor’s 500 index posted gains.

Energy stocks slumped, as did the rest of the market, along with the price of oil after a report showed that a drop in U.S. supplies last week was less than expected.

U.S. stocks posted a fourth straight gain on Tuesday. A government report showed that Americans cut back on spending at retailers last month, but some investors interpreted that as good for stocks since it may make the Federal Reserve more cautious when it starts raising rates for the first time in nine years.

Major indexes headed higher at the opening bell, following solid gains in Europe, then kept climbing throughout the afternoon. Nearly three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, and every sector in the S&P 500 finished with gains.

Stocks surged at the open Thursday, pushing the S&P 500 index nearly 30 points in early trading.They ended the day higher, trimming losses from the day before.

The New York Stock Exchange halted trading late Wednesday morning because of technical trouble. The outage came as traders had plenty of other things to worry about. Concerns about China’s plunging stock market and a logjam in talks between Greece and its creditors weighed on the mood. Major indexes were already falling before the shutdown, which occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. ET. NYSE resumed trading at 3:10 p.m. The exchange didn’t say what caused the malfunction but described it as internal and not the result of hackers.

Major indexes drifted lower in early trading Tuesday, then dropped further around midday, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 index below a technical level watched by many traders, the index’s average over the past 200 days. To many in the market it was a signal that stocks had fallen too far, so they jumped back in.

U.S. stocks slipped Monday amid a global sell-off with time running out for Greece to strike a new deal and its banks desperately short of cash.

Investors bought at the opening of trading Thursday after a Labor Department report on job creation suggested the economy was improving, though not so fast as to raise the specter of inflation and higher interest rates. But the gains vanished after a downbeat report from the International Monetary Fund on Greece’s finances as the country heads toward a vote on the country’s financial bailout this weekend.

The U.S. market opened higher Wednesday, following strong gains for European stocks, after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wrote a letter to the nation’s creditors and appeared to make concessions. Greece failed to repay a loan to the International Monetary Fund that was due on Tuesday after talks between the nations and its creditors broke down late last week.

Stocks edged higher Tuesday, a day after the market had its worst day of the year. That slump was prompted by a breakdown in talks between Greece and its creditors. Greece’s European bailout program ends Tuesday at midnight, and the country hasn’t yet managed to agree on an extension or a new deal with creditors.

Investors fled from stocks in Europe and the U.S. and retreated to the safety of government bonds. The losses wiped out all the gains for the Dow and S&P 500 indexes this year.

Stocks closed mostly lower Friday as the Greek debt talks go down to the wire. On Thursday, a key meeting of eurozone finance ministers broke up without an agreement. The 19 ministers are due to meet again Saturday.

Stocks had been flat to slightly higher the first half of Thursday. But that momentum was soon lost and Greece worries turned the market lower in the early afternoon.

Investors had been hopeful earlier in the week that the Greece problem was reaching the finish line, but those hopes diminished as Wednesday wore on. European finance ministers cut short a meeting on Greece’s proposals, citing major policy differences.

Greece’s proposals for budget savings appear to have won initial backing from its creditors. That news helped send stock higher Tuesday.

Optimism over the economic situation in Greece buoyed the markets Monday. Stocks also got a boost from deal news in the health care and energy sectors.

Stocks rose Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced it wouldn’t raise interest rates. “This makes the market feel more confident,” said Alan Rechtschaffen, financial adviser at UBS Wealth Management Americas.

Stocks posted modest gains Tuesday with investors looking at potential deals in the health care industry. Health insurer Aetna rose after The Wall Street Journal reported that UnitedHealth Group approached the company about a deal. Perrigo gained on speculation that Mylan may complete a bid for the company.

Stocks ended lower Monday after talks on a Greek bailout stalled. Greek leaders want to get access to the final €7.2 billion ($8.2 billion) of their bailout program that’s needed to repay debts and avoid a possible default that could trigger an exit from the euro; the bailout package expires at the end of the month.

Jitters over Greece and its creditors upset the stock market Friday. An unexpected decision by the International Monetary Fund to walk away from talks with Greece spurred the selling.

The market climbed from the start of trading on Thursday, pulled back at mid-morning on fears over a possible Greek default, but managed to hold on to modest gains across industries. Seven of the 10 sectors of the Standard and Poor’s 500 rose, led by a 0.7 percent increase in utility stocks.

Major indexes started higher at the opening of trading, putting the market on track for solid gains. Around midday, Bloomberg reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel may be willing to release more money from Greece’s bailout fund if the Greek government commits to at least one move to tighten its budget. Without a deal by the end of the month, Greece faces the prospect of going bankrupt and dropping the euro. The stock market surged after the news broke and held most of its gains until the closing bell.

The major U.S. stock market indexes dipped Tuesday as Treasury rates rose. Prices for U.S. government bonds dropped Tuesday, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to a new high for the year, 2.44%.

US stocks ended lower Monday, pushing the Dow into the red for the year.

Major stock indexes finished mixed Friday as bonds went lower on news from the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 280,000 workers to their payrolls in May and also tweaked its estimate of hiring in March and April, raising hiring numbers for the two months by a combined 32,000.

Major stock indexes headed lower at the outset of trading on Thursday, briefly returned to the starting line, then lost ground throughout the afternoon.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks ended the day with a slight loss as gains for the energy sector were offset by a slump in utilities. Treasury notes fell for a second day after a report showed that consumer prices rose in Europe for the first time since November, a sign that global inflation is picking up from a low base.

Stocks posted modest, but broad gains Monday. Eight of the 10 industry sectors in the Standard and Poor’s 500 index ended higher, led by industrial stocks with a gain of 0.4%.

Stocks ended the week Friday lower following disappointing economic data showing that gross domestic product contracted 0.7% in the first quarter. That was worse than the government’s initial estimate of growth of 0.2%.

The overall market was quiet Thursday, with the Dow moving less than 100 points throughout the session. Energy and industrial stocks were among the biggest decliners. Most investors are in “wait and see” mode regarding Greece and the Federal Reserve, which is weighing when to begin raising interest rates.