Tech, health care companies drive solid gains for US stocks
AP
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(Photo: AP)

Technology and health care companies led US stocks broadly higher Thursday, setting the market on track to break a two-week losing streak.

Some encouraging economic data helped put investors in a buying mood, though trading volume was relatively subdued as markets reopened following the Independence Day holiday in the US.

Wall Street could be in for a bumpier ride Friday, when US tariffs on billions of Chinese goods are set to kick in. Investors will also be watching out for the Labor Department’s latest monthly report on jobs and wages.

“It feels like the market is responding to the stronger economic data and some easing of the trade tensions overnight and focusing a bit more on fundamentals and a bit less on the ongoing concerns about trade,” said Christine Scalley, US equity strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

The S&P 500 index rose 23.39 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,736.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 181.92 points, or 0.8 percent, to 24,356.74. The Nasdaq composite added 83.75 points, or 1.1 percent, to 7,586.43. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 19.06 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,679.48.