Markets Right Now: Stocks end a wobbly day with solid gains

NEW YORK – The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):

4:00 p.m.

The stock market ended an up-and-down day with solid gains, led by energy companies as the price of crude oil climbed.

Transocean, an oil rig operator, rose 4 per cent Wednesday.

Health care stocks fell after President-elect Donald Trump said the government needs to overhaul how it buys drugs from pharmaceutical companies.

Many of the biggest losses in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index went to drugmakers. Endo International plunged 8.5 per cent.

Despite those drops, the Nasdaq composite posted another gain and another all-time high. The index has risen every day this year.

The S&P 500 climbed 6 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,275.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 98 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 19,954. The Nasdaq composite increased 11 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5,563.

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11:45 a.m.

Stocks gave up most of an early gain on Wall Street and were little changed by midday.

Drugmakers dropped in late morning trading Wednesday after President-elect Donald Trump called for efforts to reduce the government’s spending on drugs.

The Nasdaq Biotechnology index dropped 2.7 per cent in midday trading following Trump’s comments at a news conference. It was little changed shortly before.

AbbVie dropped 2.3 per cent and Pfizer lost 2.2 per cent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was little changed at 2,269.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 19,896. The Nasdaq composite fell 5 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 5,546.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.36 per cent.

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9:35 a.m.

Stocks are getting off to a mixed start on Wall Street as investors look ahead to the start of corporate earnings reports later this week.

Health care and utilities stocks are higher in early trading Wednesday, but banks and phone companies fell.

Drugmaker Merck jumped 5 per cent on news that regulators will do a quick review of one of its cancer drugs.

Big U.S. companies start reporting fourth-quarter earnings this week. On Friday JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America release their results.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 20 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 19,874. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 1 point to 2,267. The Nasdaq composite fell 2 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 5,549.