By Chris Matthews, MarketWatch , Sunny Oh
Netflix shares rally after third-quarter results
Stocks on Wall Street edged higher Thursday, with a tentative
Brexit deal between the U.K. and European Union seen reducing risk,
and third-quarter U.S. earnings reports from market heavy weights
such as Netflix, Morgan Stanley providing support.
The new Brexit pact, hailed by European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson must
still be approved by the U.K. parliament and other EU member
states. Johnson has called for a U.K. parliamentary vote on
Saturday.
Read:EU and U.K. leaders say Brexit deal has been agreed
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eu-and-uk-leaders-say-brexit-deal-has-been-agreed-2019-10-17)
What are major indexes doing?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63 points, or 0.2%, to
27,065, while the S&P 500 index advanced 12 points, or 0.4%, to
3,001. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 36 points, or 0.4%, to
8,160.
Stocks ended with small losses
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-point-slightly-lower-as-worries-remain-over-us-china-deal-2019-10-16)
in a range-bound session on Wednesday. The Dow lost 22.82 points,
or 0.1%, to close at 27,001.98, while the S&P 500 gave up 5.99
points, or 0.2%, to end at 2,989.69. The Nasdaq Composite finished
at 8,124.18, off 24.52 points, or 0.3%.
What's driving the market?
The Brexit headlines sent the British pound higher and also
lifted European stocks
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mixed-corporate-results-from-nestle-and-unilever-keep-european-stocks-to-a-tight-range-2019-10-17),
though analysts cautioned that the agreement could still be
derailed. Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, a key ally
of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party, said it
remained opposed to the draft agreement.
See: What a Brexit deal would mean for U.S. stocks and global
investors
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-a-brexit-deal-would-mean-for-us-stocks-and-global-investors-2019-10-17)
"It remains to be seen whether the reaction is short-lived as
the politicians go toe-to-toe again at the weekend, but in the
meantime the very possibility of an agreed outcome to the painful
Brexit saga has resulted in a relief rally, both financial and
psychological," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive
Investor.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks have reacted positively overall to the
start of third-quarter earnings reporting season.
"Even though it is very early in the Q3 earnings reporting
period, investors have been encouraged by the better-than-expected
results for the large diversified banks and selected health care
companies," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA,
in a note.
Overall, the U.S corporate earnings season is off to a good
start. More than 78% of the S&P 500 index companies that have
reported so far have topped analyst earnings expectations,
according to FactSet.
Investors were igesting a series of downbeat U.S. economic
reports though. The number of unemployed workers who applied for
jobless benefits
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-rise-slightly-to-214000-in-mid-october-but-remain-near-a-50-year-low-2019-10-17)in
the second week of October rose slightly, but layoffs nationwide
remained near a 50-year low and showed no sign of rising despite a
slowdown in the U.S. economy.
U.S. new home construction fell 9% in September
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-starts-fall-9-in-september-but-high-permits-low-mortgage-rates-suggest-construction-slowdown-is-temporary-2019-10-17)
from the month before, while permits for new housing construction
were issued at a rate of 1.39 million homes, a 3% decline and below
the 1.38 million consensus expectations.
Industrial production fell 0.4% in September
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/industrial-output-falls-by-most-in-five-months-pushed-lower-by-gm-strike-2019-10-17),
the largest one-month drop since April. Industrial capacity usage
slumped to 77.5 in September from 77.9 in the prior month. An index
of manufacturing activity
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/philly-fed-manufacturing-index-stumbles-in-october-2019-10-17)
in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey fell to 5.6 in September
from 12.0 in August, below the 7.1 expected, according to
Econoday.
Uncertainty around U.S.-China trade talks also continues to cast
a cloud over the market. A Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman
said U.S. and Chinese negotiators are still working out the text of
a so-called "phase 1" trade agreement that led to the U.S.
postponing a tariff increase that had been set for Tuesday this
week in exchange for promises by the Chinese to increase U.S.
agricultural purchases. The White House said that the deal would
involve agricultural purchases of between $40 to $50 billion
annually, but Gao declined to confirm that number, according to
Bloomberg
(https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-17/china-says-trade-team-in-close-contact-with-u-s-on-deal-text).
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Thursday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kudlow-says-us-china-have-come-further-than-ever-on-trade-deal-2019-10-17)
that the U.S. and China have come "further than we ever have
before" on a trade deal, in an interview with CNBC, noting that the
two sides have seen momentum in reason like financial services and
currency management.
"The chatter out of Washington and Beijing has been positive, so
the odds of a phase one pact being signed next month at the G7
summit is high," said Jerry Lucas, senior trading strategist at UBS
Global Wealth Management. "With that and Brexit progress, the world
is looking like a better place than two weeks ago."
T
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-doral-golf-resort-in-miami-chosen-for-g7-summit-2019-10-17)he
White House announced the G-7 summit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-doral-golf-resort-in-miami-chosen-for-g7-summit-2019-10-17)
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-doral-golf-resort-in-miami-chosen-for-g7-summit-2019-10-17)would
take place at Trump's resort in Miami.
New York Fed President John Williams is due to deliver a speech
and take part in a discussion in Manhattan at 4:20 p.m.
Overall though, investors remain wary as October has recorded
nearly 40% higher volatility than the other 11 months since World
War Two, Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, said in
a note. CFRA still expects to see share prices end the year higher
on an improvement in earnings per share expectations, he added.
What companies are in focus?
Morgan Stanley(MS) shares rose Thursday after the investment
bank reported third-quarter profits and sales that beat Wall Street
expectations.
Shares of Honeywell International Inc.(HON) were up after its
third-quarter results topped Wall Street forecasts
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/honeywells-stock-drops-after-profit-beat-and-guidance-raised-but-sales-fall-shy-2019-10-17).
Philip Morris International Inc.(PM), also reported
third-quarter results Thursday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/philip-morris-profit-tops-estimates-in-q3-but-sales-fall-short-lowers-full-year-eps-guidance-2019-10-17),
announcing that earnings fell less than analysts had anticipated,
though revenue rose less than expected.
Shares of Netflix Inc.(NFLX) were higher Thursday after it
reported third-quarter results
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-stock-spikes-after-subscriber-growth-bounces-back-but-executives-admit-competition-will-hurt-the-rest-of-the-year-2019-10-16)
late Wednesday. The streaming service said it added 6.77 million
new paying subscribers in the quarter, with only 500,000 coming
from the U.S.
Opinion:Netflix finally admits the obvious: Competition from
Apple and Disney will hurt
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-finally-admits-the-obvious-competition-from-apple-and-disney-will-hurt-2019-10-16)
Shares of International Business Machine Inc.(IBM) tumbled
though after it reported less revenue than Wall Street expected
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ibm-stock-slips-after-revenue-misses-street-view-2019-10-16)
after Wednesday's closing bell.
Rail-based freight company CSX Corp. (CSX) also reported
earnings after the close of trade Wednesday. Third-quarter profits
unexpectedly rose and revenue fell in line with analyst
forecasts.
How are other markets trading?
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up about a basis
point at
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-climb-after-uk-strikes-tentative-brexit-deal-with-eu-2019-10-17)1.76%.
European stocks ended little changed after rising initially
following the news of a tentative Brexit deal, with the FTSE up
0.2% and the Stoxx Europe 600 off 0.1% at 393.08.
Oil futures finished higher Thursday, as the U.S. and Turkey
reached a cease-fire pact in Syria, temporarily easing Middle East
tensions, and a tentative Brexit deal fueled appetite for assets
perceived as risk, despite a rise in U.S. crude inventories.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-lower-on-fears-of-us-crude-inventory-rise-2019-10-17)West
Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery gained 57 cents to
$53.93 a barrel.
Gold prices ended at the highest price in a week,
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-prices-bounce-around-as-investors-weigh-tentative-brexit-pact-2019-10-17)up
$4.30 at $1,498.30 an ounce on Comex and the U.S. dollar fell 0.4%,
according to the ICE U.S. dollar index .
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 17, 2019 15:37 ET (19:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.