Stocks Rise After Mixed Earnings Reports
October 23 2019 - 5:03PM
Dow Jones News
By Akane Otani and Caitlin Ostroff
U.S. stocks inched higher Wednesday, extending a streak of
listless trading for markets.
Major indexes opened little changed and drifted along in a
narrow range throughout the trading session.
Many of the biggest moves of the day stemmed from companies that
had recently reported quarterly earnings. S&P 500 companies
have largely managed to beat analysts' estimates so far in the
reporting season--although investors note that expectations were
low for the quarter, due to factors including a slowing global
economy and a still unresolved U.S.-China trade fight.
UBS expects that, even if the two countries manage this year to
strike a firmer deal to roll tariffs back, there will still be "a
meaningful slowdown going into the first half of next year," said
Seth Carpenter, chief U.S. economist at UBS.
The S&P 500 rose 8.53 points, or 0.3%, to 3004.52 Wednesday.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 15.50 points, or 0.2%, to 8119.79 and
the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 45.85 points, or 0.2%, to
26833.95.
Semiconductor stocks trailed behind major indexes, with Texas
Instruments dropping $9.62, or 7.5%, to $118.95 after giving a
downbeat outlook for the fourth quarter.
Health-care stocks were mixed: Eli Lilly fell $2.44, or 2.2%, to
$107.40 after posting revenue that missed analysts' expectations,
and medical-device maker Boston Scientific climbed $1.91, or 5%, to
$40.09 after it raised its revenue growth target.
Among industrials, Boeing shares added $3.50, or 1%, to $340.50
after the aerospace giant said profits more than halved in the
latest quarter but indicated it still expects its 737 MAX to return
to service by the end of the year.
Caterpillar rose $1.65, or 1.2%, to $135.34 despite reporting a
drop in both earnings and revenue and lowering its profit forecast
for the year. The firm's executives said on an earnings call that
they expected to continue a streak of share buybacks in the second
half of the year.
Such repurchases can often help support stock prices, as well as
boost per-share earnings.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 ticked up 0.1% after British
lawmakers endorsed the terms of a Brexit agreement but rejected the
government's proposed timetable.
The pound, which had fallen sharply after Tuesday's votes, edged
up 0.3% against the U.S. dollar.
Parliament's rejection of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's
legislative schedule for Brexit reduced the likelihood of a
departure by Oct. 31, said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at
CMC Markets. Mr. Johnson said Tuesday that he would try to trigger
an election if lawmakers move too slowly in considering his
deal.
"There are a lot of moving parts," which makes it hard for
investors to position for what happens next, Mr. Hewson said. "We
are now in extension territory and we've been in that territory for
a while."
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.8%, posting its biggest
one-day decline since the start of the month, following reports
that China is preparing to replace the city's leader, Carrie
Lam.
Worries about months of protests in the city and the resulting
economic fallout have made the Hang Seng one of the
worst-performing indexes in the region this year.
--David Hodari contributed to this article.
Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com and Caitlin Ostroff
at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 23, 2019 16:48 ET (20:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.