Stocks Close On Firm Note For 2nd Straight Day On Earnings Hopes
April 23 2024 - 5:00PM
IH Market News
U.S. stocks ended on a firm note on Tuesday, extending gains
from previous session, with technology shares once again
outperforming others, amid optimism about earnings.
A batch of encouraging earnings updates, and slightly easing
concerns about the outlook for interest rates helped underpin
sentiment.
The major averages all ended notably higher. The Dow settled
with a gain of 263.71 points or 0.69 percent at 38,503.69. The
S&P 500 climbed 59.95 points or 1.2 percent to 5,070.55, while
the Nasdaq gained 245.33 points or 1.59 percent to settle at
15,696.64.
Several technology heavyweights such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT),
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) are scheduled
to announce their quarterly earnings this week.
Other big names including Boeing, Intel, American Airlines,
Chevron and Exxon Mobil are also slated to report their quarterly
earnings during the course of this week.
Verizon (NYSE:VZ) rallied about 3.5 percent. American Express
climbed 2.5 percent, while Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, Walt Disney,
Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase and IBM ended higher by 1.3 to 2
percent.
Netflix, Palo Alto Networks, Nvidia, Illumina, Moderna and
Microchip Technology ended sharply higher.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported a few minutes after the
closing bell that its total earnings totaled $1.13 billion, or
$0.34 per share in the first quarter. This compares with $2.51
billion, or $0.73 per share, in last year’s first quarter.
Excluding items, Tesla Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $1.54
billion or $0.45 per share for the period.
Globe Life soared 13.5 percent, topping the list of gainers in
the S&P 500 index. Danaher and GE Aerospace surged on strong
results. Kimberly-Clark and General Motors also ended sharply
higher.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) drifted down 2.3 percent. Boeing ended down
nearly 1 percent. Invesco and Pepsico also ended sharply lower,
with the latter dropping on somewhat disappointing quarterly
results.
In economic news, the S&P Global US Composite PMI declined
to 50.9 in April from 52.1 in the previous month, signaling only a
slight expansion in the country’s private sector, which was the
softest since December, a preliminary estimate showed.
The S&P Global Flash US Manufacturing PMI fell to a
four-month low of 49.9 in April 2024, from 52.0 in March. The
reading was expected to come in at 52.0. The S&P Global US
Services PMI dropped to a five-month low of 50.9 in April.
A report released by the Commerce Department showed new home
sales spiked by 8.8 percent to an annual rate of 693,000 in March
after plunging by 5.1 percent to a revised rate of 637,000 in
February.
Economists had expected new home sales to rise to an annual rate
of 668,000 from the 662,000 originally reported for the previous
month.
Building permits fell by 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 1.467 million in March 2024, revised from a
preliminary estimate of 1.458 million. This follows a 2.3 percent
increase in February.
Traders await more economic data this week, including the
release of first-quarter U.S. GDP data as well as the core
personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the
Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific
region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China’s
Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7 percent.
The major European markets closed higher on the day. While the
German DAX Index surged 1.55 percent, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.81
percent, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended higher by 0.26 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures for June ended higher
by $1.46 or 1.78% at $83.36 a barrel. Gold futures for April ended
down by $4.50 or about 0.19% at $2,327.70 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar was trading at 154.82 yen
compared to the 154.85 yen it fetched at the close of New York
trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar was at 1.0704,
compared to yesterday’s $1.0655.
SOURCE: RTTNEWS
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