S&P gains on bargain hunting, but Boeing hits Dow

Business Update: Asia tumbles
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By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose on Tuesday as investors hunted for bargains a day after a steep sell-off, but another delay for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner kept the Dow in the red.
Shares that led the market down on Monday, when the market suffered its worst one-day loss in two months, were among the positive influences, including banks, energy and materials.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) shares rose 2.1 percent to $33.57 after falling 6.1 percent on Monday, while Bank of America (BAC.N) gained 2.4 percent to $12.23 a day after sliding 9.7 percent. Shares of Chevron Corp (CVX.N) rose 0.3 percent to $65.96 after losing 3.4 percent on Monday.
There was also caution a day ahead of the Federal Reserve's assessment of economic conditions.
"The market's really trying to stabilize after a pretty sharp decline yesterday," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist of RDM Financial in Westport, Connecticut.
Energy shares also got a boost from a 2.6 percent gain in U.S. oil futures prices.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 16.10 points, or 0.19 percent, at 8,322.91. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 2.06 points, or 0.23 percent, at 895.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 1.27 points, or 0.07 percent, at 1,764.92.
The broad S&P 500 index dropped back into negative territory for the year on Monday. Although the index is up about 32 percent from a 12-and-a-half-year low hit in early March, it had been up as much as 40 percent.
ORACLE JUMPS LATE
After the close, shares of Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) gained 1.4 percent to $20.14 after the software maker reported profit and sales that beat forecasts. The stock had closed at $19.87 on Nasdaq.
During the regular session, Boeing Co (BA.N) dominated the downside. The plane maker's stock was the Dow's biggest drag after the company said the inaugural flight of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner will be postponed so it can reinforce a section of the aircraft.
Boeing's stock fell 6.5 percent to $43.87, marking its worst one-day drop since November.
Other industrial shares also fell, including United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), down 1.4 percent at $51.84.
After its two-day meeting ends Wednesday, the Fed is widely expected to leave the benchmark fed funds rate at almost zero. But investors will check its statement closely for clues on the central bank's economic outlook.
"The only question will be what they say after the meeting in terms of tempering investors' expectations about when the Fed will ultimately start to rein in liquidity and tighten policy," Sheldon said. Continued...
Source: Reuters