US market close: Dow Jones closes firmly above 18,000 as tech sector slumps

US markets — Goldman Sachs Group Inc's quarterly profit fell by more than half and revenue slumped to its lowest in more than four years as market volatility hit the Wall Street bank's bond trading and investment banking businesses. Reuters

US stocks were mixed on 19 April as the tech and consumer discretionary sectors weighed as oil prices rose. While the Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed up, the Nasdaq Composite underperformed and eased in afternoon trade to close down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.44 points, or 0.3%, to settle at 18,053.60. The Dow rose to 18,103 in early trading, despite declines in tech stocks weighing heavily. IBM, which dropped more than 6%, contributed to about a 60 point decline in the Dow Jones. Johnson & Johnson, Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth were the biggest contributors to gains.

The S&P 500 also rose, gaining 6.46 points, or 0.3%, to close at 2,100.80, its best level since December. Energy and materials, which traded 1.5% higher, were the top performing sectors along with financials.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 19.69 points, or 0.4%, to settle at 4,940.33. The tech-heavy average took a hit after Illumina dropped more than 20% and Netflix plunged over 11%.

"We are starting to see differences in performance across the sectors based on fundamentals instead of painting the market with a broad brush," Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, told MarketWatch. "That is a sign that market participants are looking at individual sectors rather than focusing on the broad view of a global slowdown."

US crude oil futures for May delivery gained $1.30, or 3.27%, to settle at $41.08 a barrel. After crude oil futures for May delivery settle on 20 April, the contract will roll to June, which traded above $42 a barrel.

Treasury yields closed higher, with the 2-year yield near 0.75% and the 10-year yield at 1.78% at 2.20pm EDT/7.20pm GMT. CNBC reported that the US dollar index traded lower, with the euro at $1.138 and the yen at 109.1 yen against the greenback. Gold futures traded $19.30 higher to settle at $1,254.30 an ounce.

Abroad, markets in Europe and Asia appeared to close in positive territory. European stocks settled 1% higher and Germany's DAX outperformed to surge more than 2%. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 surged more than 3.5%, China's Shanghai Composite closed up 0.3% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.3%.