Wall Street ends 1% higher on strong earnings

US stock indices closed the second session of the week comfortably higher, buoyed by strong earnings results for Netflix and Goldman Sachs, in addition to the healthcare sector; brightening sentiment and underscoring what could be the best earnings quarter in seven years after the large US tax cuts. 

Earlier US data showed housing starts rose 1.9% to an annualized 1.319 million units in March, compared to a 3.3% drop in February to 1.295 million, while analysts expected a 2.5% rise to 1.267 million. 

Building permits rose 2.5% to 1.354 million units, compared to a 4.1% fall in February to 1.321 million, while analysts expected no change at 1.321 million, as industrial output slowed down to 0.5% from 1.1% in February, beating forecasts of a 0.3% rise. 

The Capacity Utilization Rate inched down to 78% from 78.1 in February, also beating forecasts of 77.9%, while Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams spoke earlier today about monetary policy at a global symposium co-hosted by the National Association for Business Economics and Bank of Spain, in Madrid.

Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles testified on supervision and regulation before the House Financial Services Committee, in Washington DC.

Dow Jones rose 0.87%, or 213.59 points to 24.,786.63, while Standard and Poor's 500 advanced 1.07%, or 28.55 points to 2,706.30. NASDAQ Composite spiked 1.74%, or 124.81 points to 7,281.10. 

Gold futures due on June 15 inched down 0.03% to $1,350.30 an ounce from the opening of $1,350.70, while the dollar index inched up 0.07% to 89.49 from the opening of 89.42. 

Otherwise, US crude futures due on May 15 rose 0.38% to $66.47 a barrel from the opening of $66.22, while Brent futures due on June 15 edged up 0.17% to $71.54 a barrel from the opening of $71.42.