Author: Alex Veiga

Investors nudged U.S. stocks into positive territory Monday, thanks in part to another round of corporate couplings. Three proposed acquisitions, including medical device maker Medtronic’s $42.9 billion bid for rival Covidien, helped the market eke out a slight gain for the second trading day in a row. Homebuilding stocks also got a boost from a…

Call it the Great Slog. Stocks are bumbling along this year after a gangbuster 2013. The upward grind is underscored by the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, which closed above 1,900 for the first time on Friday and is up 2.8 percent for the year. That gain compares with a 16 percent increase over the…

Major U.S. stock indexes mounted a solid comeback Wednesday, recovering their losses from the prior day and finishing on track for a weekly gain. It was the Dow Jones industrial average’s biggest gain in five weeks. In the absence of any major new economic data, investors focused on companies reporting quarterly earnings or otherwise garnering…

Corporate earnings pushed U.S. stocks mostly higher on Thursday, but it wasn’t an easy ride up. The stock market appeared set in the morning for its fourth consecutive positive open, but immediately turned negative as investors sold shares in Google and IBM. The market heavyweights reported disappointing earnings late Wednesday. Earnings from toy maker Mattel…

Investors drove stock prices to their highest level in a week Wednesday, encouraged by a crop of corporate earnings and reassuring U.S. and Chinese economic data. Major U.S. stock indexes notched their third day of gains in a row. Yahoo and Delta Air Lines were among the companies posting big gains. The gains were broad;…

A stock market swoon turned into a comeback Tuesday. Stocks managed a late-afternoon rebound for the second time in two days as investors seemed to brush off a report of lower confidence among homebuilders and simmering tensions in the Ukraine. The late rally even gave a lift to tech stocks like Google and Intel, which…

U.S. stocks mounted a modest rally on Monday, helping investors recover some of the ground lost after a rough finish last week. Investors were bracing for another round of discouraging earnings and a third consecutive loss for the stock market. But the market pushed higher from the get-go Monday, receiving a boost from solid earnings…

Stock investors started the week worrying about China. They ended it waiting on Russia. Investors spent much of Friday monitoring developments in the Ukraine’s region of Crimea, where residents will vote Sunday on whether to secede to Russia. The U.S. and European Union have vowed to impose sanctions on Russia as early as Monday if…

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points Thursday, its biggest decline in six weeks. The pullback came as investors reacted to discouraging economic reports from China and intensifying tensions in Ukraine. It was the worst day for the market in six weeks and the fourth loss in a row for the Dow.…

For much of Wednesday, the U.S. stock market appeared to be headed for its third decline in three days. By late afternoon, the market began to slowly pare its losses as investors bought up oil refiners, mining companies and technology stocks. The push was enough to nudge the Standard & Poor’s 500 index into the…