Wall Street ends mixed as earnings lift the Dow
U.S. stocks closed mixed with the Dow out front on Tuesday, as a string of solid earnings lured investors to industrials and capital goods.
The S&P 500 was essentially unchanged at the closing bell, while weakness in growth and microchip stocks pulled the tech-laden Nasdaq to a nominally lower close.
Third-quarter earnings season has shifted into overdrive, with corporate giants such as General Motors, GE Aerospace, 3M and Coca-Cola posting generally upbeat results. But with major U.S. stock indexes hovering near record highs and valuations stretched, upbeat results alone could prove insufficient to sustain investor risk appetite.
So far, 78 of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported. Of those, 87% have beaten Wall Street expectations. Analysts currently foresee aggregate third-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 9.2% year-on-year, more robust than their 8.8% estimate as it stood on October 1, according to LSEG data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 218.16 points, or 0.47%, to 46,924.74, the S&P 500 gained 0.22 points, or 0.00%, to 6,735.35 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 36.88 points, or 0.16%, to 22,953.67.
Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer discretionary and industrials led the gainers, while utilities suffered the largest percentage loss.
Source : Reuters.com
