By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks closed with modest gains
on Tuesday, clawing back a fraction of their worst losses since
June made a day earlier.
Investors welcomed a smaller-than-expected drop in factory
orders during December. The stock market had slumped Monday after
disappointing manufacturing data on the heels of an
emerging-markets rout stoked fears over a possible slowdown in the
U.S. economy.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed 13.31 points, or 0.8%, higher at
1,755.20, a day after sliding 2.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJI) rose 72.44 points, or 0.5% to 15,445.24.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) ended 34.56 points, or 0.9% higher
at 4,031.52.
Read the recap of our stock market live blog.
"A 3.5% drop in one month is not something to worry about. Since
2009, we had one monthly loss for every three gains, said Frank
Fantozzi, president and founder of Planned Financial Services.
"We advise our clients to allocate more money to emerging
markets, which look cheap at the moment and to U.S. stocks, as we
believe the big macro picture remains intact," he added.
The economic calendar will get busier, beginning with the ISM
services index and ADP jobs reports on Wednesday and ending with
the closely watched nonfarm-payrolls report on Friday.
In earnings news, Michael Kors (KORS) shares soared 17.3% after
the firm reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings and
raised its per-share earnings guidance.
J.C. Penney (JCP) reported a 2% increase in same-store sales for
the fourth quarter, marking the first time since the second quarter
of 2011 that the retailer has generated a positive quarterly sales
result. However, some analysts said the results were "not good
enough," and shares tanked 10.6%.
Yum Brands Inc. (YUM) rallied 8.9% after the parent company of
KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut said late Monday its fourth-quarter
earnings fell. However, the company's adjusted earnings per share
were better than projected in a FactSet survey.
Archer Daniels Midland Co.'s (ADM) fourth-quarter adjusted
earnings beat expectations. But shares gave up earlier gains and
closed 1.8% lower.
Shares of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) closed slightly lower the day
the software giant had named Satya Nadella, head of the company's
cloud and enterprise business, as its new chief executive
officer.
In other financial markets, European stocks fell for a
third-straight day, while Asian bourses closed in the deep red. Oil
rebounded ahead of inventory data, while gold moved lower. In
currencies, the Australian dollar climbed against the U.S. dollar
after the country's central bank indicated it is no longer leaning
toward cutting interest rates.
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