US STOCKS-Wall St boosted by upbeat earnings


Reuters | Washington DC | Updated: 23-07-2019 21:10 IST | Created: 23-07-2019 21:09 IST
US STOCKS-Wall St boosted by upbeat earnings
Image Credit: Pixabay
  • Country:
  • United States

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, boosted by upbeat earnings and forecasts from Coca-Cola and United Technologies, while a two-year debt ceiling and the budget deal between President Donald Trump and Congress buoyed sentiment. Coca-Cola Co shares rose as much as 5.7% to hit a record high after the fizzy drink maker beat quarterly earnings expectations and raised its full-year organic revenue forecast.

Fellow Dow component United Technologies Corp gained 1.5%, after raising its full-year profit and sales outlook. "Earnings have been coming in above expectations which is good, but we are still very early in the reporting season so we have to wait and see how it progresses," said Michael Geraghty, equity strategist at Cornerstone Capital Group in New York.

"Another positive for markets is that a deal has been reached on the U.S. debt ceiling, which is a relief because if there was no deal it would be a very unpleasant situation." The deal will help avert a feared government default later this year but add to rising budget deficits.

The overall profits of S&P 500 companies are now expected to rise by about 1% in the second quarter, according to Refinitiv IBES data, improving from a small decline estimated previously. The International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for global growth this year and next, warning that more U.S.-China tariffs, auto tariffs or a disorderly Brexit could slow growth further.

Hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut rates at its policy-setting meeting next week to counter a slowing global economy have helped Wall Street's main indexes scale new record levels and put the S&P 500 just about 1% shy of its all-time high. At 10:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 94.04 points, or 0.35%, at 27,265.94, the S&P 500 was up 8.79 points, or 0.29%, at 2,993.82. The Nasdaq Composite was up 12.56 points, or 0.15%, at 8,216.70.

Travelers Cos Inc fell 2.5% after the insurer's second-quarter profit missed estimates, as weather-related losses led to an 18% drop in underwriting gain. Hasbro Inc jumped 7.1% and was the biggest gainer among S&P 500 companies after the toymaker reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue.]

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.77-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.15-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 16 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 34 new highs and 81 new lows.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Give Feedback