US stocks rise following solid earnings news

New York (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rising in midday trading, shaking off a three-day slump, as the latest round of corporate results brought several positive surprises. Strong earnings from First Solar and Priceline sent their shares higher.

Keeping score: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 17 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,110 as of 11:25 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 86 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,636 and the Nasdaq rose 67 points, or 1.3 percent, to 5,173.

Here comes the sun: First Solar soared 18 percent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500, following news that the country's largest solar company turned in results that beat estimates and also raised its outlook for full-year profits. Revenue climbed 65 percent in the quarter thanks to more income from its Silver State South plant in Nevada and the sale of stakes in two projects. First Solar's stock jumped $7.98 to $52.48.

Traveling up: Priceline Group climbed 5 percent after the online-booking service posted profit and revenue that easily beat analysts' forecasts, helped by rising reservations for hotel rooms and rental cars. Its stock gained $65.70 to $1,349.76.

Not so bad: Heading into the second-quarter earnings season last month, investors were braced for a sharp drop in profits, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at the Commonwealth Financial Network. "The expectations were that things would be terrible," he said. "And while they're not great, they're certainly better than expected. Look at the big picture: the only sector that's really getting killed is energy."

Jobs: Payroll processor ADP reported that companies added 185,000 jobs in July, a drop from the previous month. Investors often look to the ADP survey for clues to the Labor Department's monthly report on the job market, which is due out on Friday. Economists forecast that it will show employers added 225,000 workers in July and that the unemployment rate held steady at 5.3 percent.

Crude: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 6 cents to $45.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It's still down 2 percent this week following a steep fall on Monday.

Europe: Germany's DAX advanced 1.6 percent, France's CAC 40 also rose 1.6 percent, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.8 percent.

Asia's day: In China, the Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent, South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4 percent.

Bonds: U.S. government bond price fell, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 2.27 percent from 2.22 percent.

By Mathew Craft, AP Business Writer. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – August 5, 2015 @ 10:40am.