Stocks rose for the first time this week, with traders parsing a slew of corporate results for clues on the health of the world’s largest economy. Treasuries were little changed after days of losses.
Big tech led gains in equities as Tesla Inc. surged 16% after the carmaker reported surprisingly strong earnings and forecast as much as 30% growth in vehicle sales next year. United Parcel Service Inc. — a barometer of economic activity — jumped 5% after returning to sales and profit growth for the first time in nearly two years. Boeing Co. dropped 2.5% as factory workers rejected the latest offer aimed at ending a strike.
“Despite the possibility of more volatility as we get deeper into earnings season and close in on the November election, the market’s longer-term outlook remains solid,” sais Daniel Skelly at Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Market Research & Strategy team.
The market barely budged after Thursday’s economic data, with new home sales beating estimates, initial jobless claims dropping and business activity expanding at a solid pace.
“Goldilocks data that’s in-line with expectations (so not too good or too bad) is the best outcome for a continued rebound in stocks and bonds today,” said Tom Essaye at The Sevens Report.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%. Treasury 10-year yields declined one basis point to 4.23%.
This week’s equity slide did little to dent the wall of bullish technical signals built up around the S&P 500 Index. The US stock benchmark continues to trade comfortably above its 200-day moving average, clocking 245 straight days above the closely watched long-term line on Wednesday.
In the prior 13 instances when the S&P 500 closed above its 200-day average for at least 242 consecutive days, with the index less than 3% below a record, the gauge proceeded to post a median gain of 7.2% in the next six months, advancing in all but two cases, SentimenTrader’s analysis found.
“Near term, pullbacks/profit-taking should be expected given the uncertainties around the upcoming US presidential election, geopolitical uncertainty, and the earnings parade,” said Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler. “No change to our 2024 year end S&P 500 price objective of 6,100.”
Corporate Highlights:
- American Airlines Group Inc. boosted its full-year profit guidance, highlighting progress rebuilding from a failed sales strategy while it grapples with persistently high costs.
- Southwest Airlines Co. reported third-quarter profit more than double Wall Street’s estimates, a needed boost as the carrier tries to shore up financial results following a bruising fight with activist Elliott Investment Management that came to an end Thursday.
- Whirlpool Corp., the owner of Maytag, reported better than expected earnings, and reaffirming its full-year sales forecast.
- Harley-Davidson Inc.’s motorcycle shipments fell in the latest quarter on lower demand for its high-margin bikes, prompting a downward revision in its full-year forecast.
- Honeywell International Inc. lowered its revenue outlook for the year following weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales.
- International Business Machines Corp. reported underwhelming revenue in the third quarter, hurt by a slowdown in consulting demand.
- Lam Research Corp. reported better-than-expected first quarter results. Analysts note that investors will welcome this report after ASML’s weak report earlier this month.
- T-Mobile US Inc. reported more monthly mobile-phone and broadband subscribers that analysts expected, leading it to raise forecasts for new customers and earnings this year.
- Newmont Corp. reported disappointing earnings results that signal the world’s top gold producer is struggling to control costs at its mines and capitalize on surging bullion prices.
Key events this week:
- US durable goods, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 10:11 a.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4%
- The MSCI World Index rose 0.4%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
- The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0809
- The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2986
- The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 152.11 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 1.6% to $67,651.74
- Ether rose 0.3% to $2,521.16
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.23%
- Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.27%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 4.25%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $71.03 a barrel
- Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,735.08 an ounce
