Wall St up on tech

US stocks rose on Monday, spurred by optimism ahead of earnings from key technology companies and after Dow component Boeing announced strong orders.

Investors bet on solid reports from International Business Machines, the world's largest technology services provider, and chip maker Texas Instruments, hoping they would echo Intel's positive results last week.

Intel's forecast-beating profits and revenues had shown strength in technology spending.

"That's where the earnings have been most positive," said Nick Kalivas, an analyst at MF Global in Chicago.

"It makes sense that people would be a little bit more optimistic in that sector."

IBM closed up 1.4 percent to US$129.79 and Texas Instruments finished up 3.2 percent to US$25.55 on the New York Stock Exchange.

But shares of IBM fell nearly 4 percent after the closing bell after its revenues missed expectations, and Texas Instruments slumped 6 percent as its revenue failed to impress.

Stock index futures opened lower.

"This is going to hurt across the board because technology has been the leader in this (equities) rally," said Keith Springer, president at Capital Financial Advisory Services in Sacramento, California.

Revenues have been in sharp focus during the current corporate reporting season, seen as key to providing insight into future performance.

Boeing Co gained 2.1 percent to $63.18 during the regular session after it announced an order for 30 large airliners from Dubai-based Emirates and said it expects more orders this week, particularly from airplane leasing companies..

Halliburton Co kicked off a busy earnings week, posting a better-than-expected rise in profits, and shares of the oil field services company rallied 6 percent to US$29.17.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 56.53 points, or 0.56 percent, to 10,154.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 6.37 points, or 0.60 percent, to 1,071.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 19.18 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,198.23.

The S&P 500 hit a session low of about 1,061, roughly at the index's 14-day moving average and the 23.6 percent retracement of the benchmark's 2010 high-to-low slide, suggesting a level of support where pockets of buying can be expected.

About 7.16 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of almost 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq about three stocks rose for every two that fell.

Wireless networking chipmaker Atheros Communications Inc, which counts Apple and Nintendo among its customers, jumped 4.1 percent to US$30.46 after a brokerage upgrade and helped the PHLX semiconductor index rise 2.5 percent.

Entergy Corp forecast second-quarter profit above market estimates and backed its full-year earnings outlook. The power company's shares rose 2.2 percent to US$77.64.

But home builder Hovnanian Enterprises dropped 4.7 percent to US$3.84 after the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index fell in July to its lowest level since April 2009.

Delta Air Lines Inc, the world's biggest air carrier, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, but revenue missed expectations and its shares fell as much as 11.3 percent before paring losses.

Delta closed down 2.9 percent to US$11.38 and an index of airline stocks dropped 0.7 percent.

Second-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to increase 30.2 percent from a year ago, up from an estimate of 27 percent a little more than a week ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. The percentage combines both estimated earnings and actual results.

- Reuters