Stocks close higher on Wall Street; Sonic soars

Associated Press
Trader Michael Mozian works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, March 25, 2014. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street as the market shrugs off a two-day decline. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing higher on Wall Street as the market shrugs off a two-day decline.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose eight points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 1,865 Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 91 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,367. The Nasdaq composite rose eight points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,234.

Drive-in restaurant company Sonic jumped 11 percent after posting strong sales gains despite the cold winter weather. Spice maker McCormick rose 6 percent after reporting higher earnings.

Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Only one of the 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 index fell.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.75 percent.