Stocks advance on quality in health care and tech sectors!

Stocks edged higher Tuesday as corporate earnings helped lift health-care and technology shares, putting the S&P 500 Index on track for another record.
Endo International Plc soared 20 percent after the drugmaker's results beat analysts' estimates, while Microchip Technology Inc. added 7.4 percent to a record as its sales and profit outlook exceeded predictions.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,183 after slipping Monday for the first time in four days. The Dow added 16 points, and the Nasdaq gained 0.3 percent.
"The market had a good run during the reporting season, so a little pause is probably the right thing," said Christian Zogg, head of equity and fixed income at LLB Asset Management in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. "The U.S. market is not exactly cheap and with the renewed discussion after the good labor market data for a further step in the fed fund rates later in the year, the market could slip a bit, but not today."
July payrolls data that beat estimates on Friday bolstered confidence in the U.S. economy, calming concerns following lackluster readings on growth in the first half of this year. Stocks have also benefited from better-than-forecast earnings this season, particularly among technology companies. While traders have brought forward the first month with at least even odds of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase, they still expect future moves will be gradual.
A report today showed productivity of American workers unexpectedly declined for a third straight quarter, consistent with lackluster efficiency that's characterized the economic expansion. Earnings will also be in focus, with Walt Disney Co. and SolarCity Corp. among companies scheduled to report.
With almost 90 percent of S&P 500 members having posted results, about 77 percent have beaten profit predictions and 56 percent have topped sales projections. Analysts have tempered their estimates for a decline in second-quarter net income to 2.7 percent decline, from a 5.8 percent drop less than a month ago. Forecasts for the current quarter ending in September have turned negative, which would be a sixth straight period of falling profits if it holds, the longest since the financial crisis.
Sliding earnings are causing valuations to jump, with the benchmark's price-earnings ratio last month climbing above 20 for the first time since 2009. The S&P 500 has rallied 19 percent since reaching a 22-month low in February, while the CBOE Volatility Index, the measure of market turbulence known as the VIX, has retreated to a two-year low.