US stocks leap as technology and health care companies lead

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks are rising Friday as technology and health care companies make more gains. Chipmaker Intel and drugmaker AbbVie are jumping after they did far better than analysts expected in the fourth quarter. Bond prices are falling, sending yields higher. Wynn Resorts is plunging after The Wall Street Journal reported on numerous allegations of sexual assault and harassment by Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 22 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,861 as of 3 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average added 124 points, or 0.5 percent, to 26,517. The Nasdaq composite rose 63 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,474. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lagged behind as the dollar weakened further. It rose 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,603.

Already at record highs, the S&P 500 is up 7 percent in January and is on track for its largest monthly increase since October 2015.

U.S. GROWTH: The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter. That's a bit less than analysts predicted but still a solid result, as Americans continued to shop and home construction increased. The economy grew 2.3 percent in 2017 and experts think growth will speed up this year, partly because of the tax cut package signed into law in December.

DAVOS DRIFT: Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Donald Trump said Friday that leaders should prioritize their own countries, but that his administration isn't opposed to international cooperation and that continued growth for the U.S. economy is good for the rest of the world.

"He did talk about making sure trade deals are fair, but I just thought it was a completely different tone today," said JJ Kinahan, chief investment strategist for TD Ameritrade. "I think the market really took a lot of positives away from that."

On Wednesday and Thursday, comments from Trump as well as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross contributed to swings in stock prices and the dollar as investors tried to parse the remarks for indications of administration's stances on the dollar and international trade.

CHIPS AHOY: Intel jumped after it posted strong results for the fourth quarter. The company said its data center business did well and recently-discovered flaws in many of its processors aren't affecting its sales, a possibility that had worried investors. It forecast $65 billion in revenue this year, more than analysts expected. The stock added $4.402, or 9.7 percent, to $49.70. Other chipmakers also traded higher after struggling over the last few days.

Cloud computing company VMware jumped $13.56, or 9.9 percent, to $151.19 after The Wall Street Journal reported that Dell is interested in taking full control of the company.

Technology companies have led the market's big gains since the start of 2017, and that will be put to the test next week as a slew of major companies including Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google's parent company Alphabet all report their quarterly results.

HEALTHY GAINS: Drugmaker AbbVie posted a better-than-expected profit and greater sales. Its revenue from Humira, an inflammatory disease treatment that is the world's biggest-selling drug by revenue, climbed 14 percent. AbbVie also raised its profit forecast for 2018. The stock jumped $15.03, or 13.9 percent, to $123.33.

Pfizer rose on reports it's getting closer to a deal to sell its consumer health care business, a possibility Pfizer raised in October. It stock gained $1.74, or 4.7 percent, to $38.97.

WYNN PLUNGES: Shares of Wynn Resorts tumbled after The Wall Street Journal reported dozens of allegations of sexual assault and harassment by Steve Wynn, the casino operator's chairman, CEO and biggest shareholder. Wynn denied the reports. The company's stock gave up $21.45, or 10.7 percent, to $179.15.

WEAK BREW: Starbucks skidded $2.94, or 4.9 percent, to $57.61 after it posted weaker growth than investors had hoped. Analysts were unhappy with its results outside the U.S., and Starbucks also sales of holiday merchandise were weak.

DOLLAR DOWN: The dollar declined further against other currencies. It fell to 108.69 yen from 109.41 yen. The euro rose to $1.2445 from $1.2391. The ICE US dollar index is at three-year lows and has declined for six consecutive weeks.

BONDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.66 percent from 2.62 percent. Earlier it reached its highest level in three and a half years.

METALS: After it reached an 18-month high Thursday, gold fell $10.80 to $1,352.10 an ounce. Silver dropped 17 cents, or 1 percent, to $17.44 an ounce. Copper slipped 2 cents to $3.20 a pound.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 63 cents, or 1 percent, to $66.14 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 10 cents to $70.52 per barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline picked up 2 cents to $1.94 a gallon. Heating oil rose 2 cents to $2.14 a gallon. Natural gas rose 9 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $3.53 per 1,000 cubic feet.

OVERSEAS: The CAC 40 in France jumped 0.9 percent while the German DAX gained 0.3 percent. The FTSE 100 in Britain rose 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2 percent and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.5 percent.

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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/marley%20jayt