Tesla's Triumph: Revving Up Market Sentiment

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 saw gains driven by Tesla's strong earnings forecast and a dip in Treasury yields. Tesla's stock surged with a bold sales growth prediction, while other sectors struggled amid mixed corporate earnings and persistent economic uncertainties.

Thursday witnessed an upturn in the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices, propelled by a promising earnings forecast from Tesla and a slight decline in Treasury yields from a recent high. Tesla's stock soared as it announced impressive third-quarter results and projected a substantial 20% to 30% sales growth for the upcoming year, boosting its market capitalization by over $140 billion.

The Consumer Discretionary sector benefited from Tesla's surge, as noted by Charlie Ripley, senior strategist at Allianz Investment Management. Despite this, most sectors of the S&P remained in negative territory, affected by other earnings reports and pressure from persistent but slightly lowered Treasury yields. The benchmark S&P achieved a daily gain for the first time this week, while market sentiment remained fragile.

In other corporate developments, IBM and Honeywell faced declines due to underwhelming revenue and sales forecasts, contributing to the Dow's downturn. Meanwhile, Boeing's losses followed its ongoing labor strike. Notably, UPS reported increased profits, with 78.6% of S&P 500 companies surpassing analyst expectations this earnings season, as per LSEG data. Economic indicators showed increased U.S. business activity in October and a drop in weekly jobless claims.

(With inputs from agencies.)