Midday Stock Roundup

U.S. stocks rose as the number of new applicants for unemployment benefits continued to drop.

The S&P 500 was up 1.6% to 2,894.41 at midday trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose by 1.4% to 24,013.32.

Nasdaq increased 1.7% to 9,005.25.

Crude oil rose 2.1% to $24.50 a barrel.

Gold was up 2.2% to $1,725 an ounce.

The yield on a 10-year bond crumbled 10.55% to 0.635%.

TECHNOLOGY

Alteryrx (NYSE: AYX) was down 5.2% to $116 a share with a $7.7 billion market cap. The Irvine-based software company yesterday forecast second quarter sales of $91 million to $95 million, below the average analyst estimate of $108 million.

REAL ESTATE

Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (NYSE: SHO) was up 6.6% to $8.50 a share with a $1.9 billion market cap. Volume in the Irvine-based hotel REIT was about a quarter of itsdaily average volume of 4.5 million. Shares are still down about 35% since Feb. 21.

FINANCE

Pacific Premier Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: PPBI) rose 4.2% to $19.28 a share with a $1.1 billion market cap. Volume was about a fifth of the daily average for the Irvine-based bank. Shares are up about 29% since its 52-week low on March 23.