Health care, tech and trade hopes lead another stock surge

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks powered to their biggest gain in almost nine months Friday as drugmakers and technology companies surged. Investors were cheered that President Donald Trump appeared to take a more positive tone on international trade.

AbbVie boosted biotechnology companies with a strong fourth quarter and a greater annual profit forecast, while Pfizer and other drugmakers also made big gains. Intel had its best day in almost nine years after its fourth-quarter results reassured investors that security flaws recently discovered in its processors aren’t damaging its sales.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 33.62 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,872.87, its biggest gain since March 1. The Dow Jones industrial average added 223.92 points, or 0.8 percent, to 26,616.71. The Nasdaq composite rose 94.61 points, or 1.3 percent, to 7,505.77. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gained 6.39 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,608.06.

Already at record highs, the S&P 500 is up 7.5 percent in January and on track for its largest monthly increase since October 2015.

Technology and industrial companies made hefty gains, as did Amazon and other retailers, and banks rose along with interest rates. Those companies tend to benefit from more global trade and faster economic growth. Many of them are helped by a weaker dollar, and the U.S. currency declined again Friday. The weaker dollar raises costs for more U.S.-focused companies such as those in the Russell 2000.

Intel said its data center business did well in the fourth quarter and the “Meltdown” and “Spectre” security flaws aren’t affecting its sales. It forecast $65 billion in revenue this year. The stock added $4.78, or 10.6 percent, to $50.08, its biggest gain since March 2009.

Technology companies have led the market’s big gains since the start of 2017, and that will be put to the test next week as a slew of major companies including Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google’s parent company Alphabet all report their quarterly results.