Tech and Small Companies Move Stocks Up

NEW YORK (AP) -- Large technology companies and smaller U.S.-focused firms are rising again Friday morning, and stock indexes are a bit higher in spite of losses for energy and industrial companies. Tyson Foods is climbing after it gave strong profit forecasts, and investors cheered strong quarterly results from homebuilder KB Home. Stocks were at record highs heading into the final trading day of the third quarter.

KEEPING SCORE: At 10 a.m. ET, the Standard & Poor's 500 index remained at 2,510 after a record close on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 24 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,357. The Nasdaq composite rose 5 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,458. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks added 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,490. It's also at record highs after a big rally this month.

YUMMY: Tyson Foods jumped after the food company raised its annual guidance and said profits for its beef business were better than expected. The company now expects to earn between $5.20 and $5.30 a share while analyst expected $5.05 a share, according to FactSet. Tyson is also cutting costs and said it will eliminate 450 more jobs. The company projects a profit of $5.70 to $5.85 a share for its next year, well above the $5.32 analysts expected.

Tyson climbed $4.99, or 7.6 percent, to $70.44. Other packaged food companies also rose. Hormel Foods, whose brands include Skippy, rose 52 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $32.24 and Campbell Soup gained 17 cents to $47.22. Those companies have struggled in recent years as Americans look for fresher food options.

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SWEET HOME: KB Home advanced after its third-quarter profit and sales for homebuilder beat estimates. The stock rose $1.67, or 7.5 percent, to $23.89. Other homebuilders made smaller gains. Meritage Homes picked up 60 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $44.15 and Lennar advanced 41 cents to $52.64.

SPRINTING: Sporting goods retailer Finish Line continued to rally after the New York Post reported that the company is in talks to sell itself to Sports Direct, a British company that owns the Everlast and Kangol Brands. The stock rose 93 cents, or 8 percent, to $12.60.

Finish Line hit eight-year lows in late August as weak sales of shoes and other challenges for it and its competitors continued to mount. The stock has jumped 37 percent in the last six days, but it's still down 33 percent this year.

LEADERS AND LAGGARDS: Alphabet, Google's parent company, helped lead technology companies higher as it gained $7.06 to $971.87. Fiber optic products maker Amphenol jumped $1.84, or 2.2 percent, to $84.12 and video game publisher Activision added 27 cents to $63.81. Technology companies continued to do better than broader market in the third quarter. Industrial companies, which have been trading at all-time highs, took small losses. General Electric fell 14 cents to $24.11 and United Technologies lost 41 cents to $115.43. Boeing shed 85 cents to $253.42.

ECONOMIC DATA: U.S. consumer spending inched up 0.1 percent in August, according to the Commerce Department, and wages and salaries were unchanged. That could be a hint third-quarter economic growth will be weaker.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 6 cents to $51.50 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, shed 10 cents to $57.06 a barrel in London.

BONDS: Bond prices edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.30 percent from 2.31 percent.

CURRENCIES: The dollar declined to 112.38 yen from 112.39 yen. The euro rose to $1.1822 from $1.1791.

OVERSEAS: Germany's DAX added 0.4 percent and the FTSE 100 in Britain gained 0.6 percent. The French CAC 40 rose almost 0.1 percent. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 inched down less than 0.1 percent. South Korea's Kospi jumped 0.9 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.5 percent.

(BE)

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