US close: Markets keep their head above water
US stocks kept their heads generally above water on Wednesday, on the back of better-than-expected bank earnings from the likes of Bank of America and Goldman Sachs and the latest Brexit news from across the pond.
Dow Jones I.A.
38,503.69
04:30 15/10/20
Nasdaq 100
17,471.47
12:15 23/04/24
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.59% at 24,207.16, the S&P 500 added 0.22% to 2,616.10, and the Nasdaq Composite managed gains of 0.15% to close at 7,034.69.
“Attention may be primarily on Brexit in Europe but over in the US, earnings season is upon us and investors will be eyeing results for signs of weakness at a time when the global economy is expected to slow, fiscal stimulus is fading and some major companies - including Apple - are reporting difficulties,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam earlier.
“The trade war with China may not have massively taken its toll yet but it may start to show itself in the upcoming results and/or guidance.”
Brexit developments in the UK were in focus after Prime Minister Theresa May lost the 'meaningful vote' on her deal by a record margin of 432 to 202 on Tuesday, before winning a vote of no confidence tabled by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn by a slim margin.
May said earlier in the day that if her government won the confidence motion, she would then open up Brexit negotiations to a cross-party approach.
The prime minister would then have until the end of next Monday to put forward a 'plan B' on Brexit.
On home turf, the government shutdown was into its 26th day as President Trump and the Democrats remained at loggerheads over funding for his Mexico border wall.
On the economics front, US import prices fell at a month-on-month pace of 1.0% in December, beating consensus expectations for a dip of 1.3%, with the shortfall versus economists' forecasts was made up for by upwards revisions to the data for November.
With positive implications for risk appetite, the NAHB's index of homebuilder confidence added two points last month to reach 58.0.
In corporate news, Bank of America shares jumped 7.16% after its fourth-quarter profit came in above expectations.
BlackRock was 3.08% stronger, as the asset manager's quarterly earnings and revenue missed forecasts, while Ford plunged 6.17% as its fourth-quarter profit fell short of forecasts.
BNY Mellon and Goldman Sachs were higher by 2.06% and 9.54% respectively, following their own earnings.
Goldman Sachs posted a big jump in profits at the tail-end of 2018 despite lacklustre trading activity.
For the three months to December, Goldman saw its bottom-line increase to $2.54bn, versus a loss of $5.51bn in the year-ago period, for earnings per share of $6.04, beating consensus expectations for $4.53.
Dow Jones - Risers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $197.08 10.27%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $261.43 5.40%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $77.66 2.09%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $74.61 1.69%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $102.50 1.55%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $96.35 1.47%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $122.30 1.43%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $154.94 1.22%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $121.62 1.02%
American Express Co. (AXP) $99.40 0.98%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $57.08 -1.64%
3M Co. (MMM) $189.45 -1.42%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $110.90 -1.35%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $179.35 -1.03%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $177.04 -0.99%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.13 -0.97%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $42.09 -0.61%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.90 -0.49%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $111.41 -0.29%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $128.04 -0.19%
S&P 500 - Risers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $197.08 10.27%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $28.45 7.89%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $42.86 6.91%
Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) $46.70 6.62%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $22.39 6.62%
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $86.36 6.35%
Comerica Inc. (CMA) $78.13 5.65%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $261.43 5.40%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $156.64 4.78%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $44.49 4.73%
S&P 500 - Fallers
PG&E Corp. (PCG) $7.03 -16.11%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $8.28 -7.90%
Edison International (EIX) $54.18 -6.83%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $30.76 -5.18%
Ryder System Inc. (R) $52.80 -4.90%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $45.01 -4.80%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $72.57 -3.29%
Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $93.94 -3.04%
Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) $386.94 -2.73%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $44.51 -2.62%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $206.79 6.02%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $111.50 3.46%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $254.22 2.91%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $32.84 2.31%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $31.09 1.83%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $22.27 1.60%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $282.01 1.26%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $154.94 1.22%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $169.75 1.08%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $28.55 1.06%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $72.57 -3.29%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $76.56 -2.79%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $93.86 -2.18%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $251.70 -1.87%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $53.81 -1.73%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $90.96 -1.69%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $332.03 -1.63%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $53.64 -1.49%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $344.92 -1.48%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $79.98 -1.43%