Markets Right Now: US stocks open 2017 with solid gains

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

4:00 p.m.

The stock market turned in a solid gain on the first trading day of 2017, led by health care and phone companies.

Drugmaker Endo International jumped 6.1 per cent, one of the biggest gains in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. Verizon rose 2.2 per cent.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 119 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 19,881. It was up 175 points earlier.

The S&P 500 climbed 19 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 2,257. The Nasdaq composite increased 45 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 5,429.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.45 per cent.

___

11:45 a.m.

An early gain for stocks on the first trading day of 2017 was mostly gone by midday.

Phone companies remained higher Tuesday, but utilities and real estate stocks fell as interest rates climbed.

Verizon rose 2 per cent, the biggest gain in the Dow Jones industrial average.

The Dow gained 46 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 19,807. It was up 175 points earlier.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 10 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 2,249. The Nasdaq composite increased 24 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5,407.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.47 per cent.

___

9:35 a.m.

The stock market opened the year on a strong note, led by big gains in banks and energy companies.

Major U.S. indexes were broadly higher in the first few minutes of trading Tuesday as markets reopened after the New Year’s Day holiday.

Marathon Petroleum rose 6 per cent and oil rig operator Transocean climbed 4 per cent in the first few minutes of trading.

The price of crude oil rose 2 per cent to $55 a barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 162 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 19,918.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 16 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 2,254. The Nasdaq composite increased 38 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 5,421.