US stocks move higher, led by bank and technology stocks

By DAMIAN J. TROISE 13 March 2019, 12:00AM

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks moved broadly higher on Wall Street in early trading Tuesday, led by bank, technology and health care stocks.

The solid opening follows a rally on Monday that snapped a five-day losing streak. Boeing weighed down the Dow Jones Industrial Average for a second day as the airplane maker falls amid safety concerns following another deadly crash involving its most popular plane.

Google's parent company Alphabet rose 1.8 percent and Fifth Third Bancorp rose 1.3 percent.

Boeing dragged down the industrial sector. Utilities and real estate stocks also lagged the market.

A government report showed that consumer prices are on the rise, but at a level expected by economists. The 0.2 percent increase in February was pushed by higher housing and gasoline costs and inflation rose 1.9 percent.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow fell 45 points, or 0.2 percent, to 25,602 as of 10 a.m. The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq each rose 0.3 percent.

BOEING GROUNDED: The airplane maker faced a second day of losses as more countries grounded its 737 Max 8 following a second deadly crash. The stock fell 4.6 percent.

Britain joined a growing number of countries to ground the plane. Australia and Singapore suspended all flights into or out of their countries. Airlines in China and Indonesia, Aeromexico, Brazil's Gol Airlines, India's Jet Airways and others have done the same.

The crash of the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 on Sunday killed 157 people. A similar Lion Air plane crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people.

STYLISH NUMBERS: Personal styling service Stitch Fix surged 26 percent after blowing past analyst's expectations for the fourth-quarter.

The company, which sells clothing and apparel through its website, earned 12 cents per share while analysts expected 5 cents per share. It recorded an 18 percent increase in clients during the quarter and expects up to a 27 percent rise in revenue this year.

OVERSEAS: Stocks in Europe moved lower over investor concerns that Britain faces a messy exit from the European Union.

Britain is set to leave the 27-member European Union on March 29. The House of Commons is scheduled to vote on a deal later Tuesday. But Attorney General Geoffrey Cox dealt a blow to the recent proposed deal with a legal opinion. The two-page opinion said the U.K. could still not extract itself from the deal unilaterally.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE 13 March 2019, 12:00AM

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