20.01.201523:26:05UTC+00US stocks rise led by tech shares as volatility spreads

US stocks rally as tech shares increased with Apple Inc. and Netflix leading the sector despite concerns over a slowing global growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.02% or 3.66 points to 17,515.23. The gauge advanced as much as 77 points and lost as much as 164 points before settling to its current level. Coca-cola led paced the blue-chip gains. The S&P 500 rose by 0.16% or 3.13 points to 2,022.55 with technology shares lifting the measure up as Apple Inc. and Netflix prevailed. Among the 10 major industry groups, the consumer discretionary sector was the biggest laggard. The Nasdaq Composite climbed by 0.44% or 20.46 points to 4,654.85. The trend showed that for every two shares advancing, approximately three retreated. The New York Stock Exchange witnessed 861 million shares trade hands as composite volume went beyond the 3.9 billion mark. The fear gauge of investors or the CBOE Volatility Index shed 5.1% to 19.89. Trading sessions in the US were closed yesterday due to the observation of the Martin Luther King Day.

Apple Inc. along with Yahoo! Inc. and Micron Technology Inc. surged by at least 2.3%. Meanwhile, Netflix jumped by 13% after surpassing subscriber forecast. Delta Air Lines Inc. added 7.3% while Johnson & Johnson sank by 2.6%.

The European Central Bank will meet on January 22 with bets that the central bank will add stimulus in a bond-purchase program worth 550 billion euro or $630 billion to be announced by ECB head, Mario Draghi.

 Meanwhile, economic growth for China exceeded economist forecasts for the last quarter according to the latest Chinese data. Gross domestic product added 7.3% in the last quarter of 2014 which surpassed the estimate of 7.2%. This latest release is complementing the Chinese government target of a full-year expansion for Asia’s largest economy. It also suggests that stimulus efforts are bolstering demand.