Dow climbs on path to tenth straight day of gains

July 21 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with gains in healthcare setting the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) on course for its tenth straight day of advances, its longest rally in almost six years.

The blue-chip index was lifted by gains of almost 1% in UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N). It is now up almost 7% in 2023, compared to the S&P 500’s (.SPX) 19% rise.

“The Dow playing catch-up shows there is a rotation into other sectors, like healthcare and financials. The rally is not just tech-heavy anymore,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, nine rose, led by utilities (.SPLRCU), up 1.53%, followed by a 1.18% gain in healthcare (.SPXHC).

Netflix(NFLX.O) dipped 2.1%, falling for a second straight day after the video streaming company’s quarterly results this week failed to impress.

Analysts attributed Friday’s choppy trading to the expiration of monthly options and the expected special rebalancing of the multi-trillion dollar Nasdaq 100 (.NDX) at the close of trading.

The S&P 500 was up 0.43% at 4,554.17 points.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) rose 0.39% to 14,118.21 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.30% at 35,331.60 points.

The Nasdaq has rallied 35% this year, lifted by optimism over artificial intelligence, a relatively resilient U.S. economy and expectations that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hike cycle will end soon.

While the Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its July 25-26 meeting, investors have mixed views on the central bank’s longer-term monetary policy.

American Express (AXP.N) fell 3.1% on Friday after the credit card giant missed quarterly revenue estimates and affirmed its full-year profit forecast.

SLB (SLB.N) shed 2% after the top oilfield services firm missed quarterly revenue expectations due to moderating drilling activity in North America.

Toymaker Mattel’s shares (MAT.O) added 0.4% as the much-anticipated “Barbie” film debuted in theaters globally.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) by a 2.1-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 33 new highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 79 new highs and 61 new lows.

Reporting by Noel Randewich in Oakland, Calif.; Additional reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Richard Chang

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