Market Commentary and Intraday News

Stocks Rally In Reaction To Latest Earnings News - U.S. Commentary

217 days ago

(RTTNews) - Stocks have shown a strong upward move over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The markets have benefited from a positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings news.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 120.26 points or 0.9 percent at 13,544.49, the Nasdaq is up 28.80 points or 0.9 percent at 3,092.98 and the S&P 500 is up 12.96 points or 0.9 percent at 1,453.09.

The strength on Wall Street comes on the heels of the release of quarterly results from some big-name companies, including financial giant Goldman Sachs (GS), which reported better than expected third quarter earnings.

Goldman Sachs reported adjusted third quarter earnings of $2.85 per share compared to a year-ago loss of $0.84 per share, while analysts had expected earnings of $2.12 per share. Shares of Goldman Sachs are up by 0.8 percent on the news.

Beverage giant Coca-Cola (KO) also reported third quarter earnings that came in slightly above analyst estimates but on weaker than expected revenues.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported third quarter earnings and sales that exceeded analyst estimates and also raised its full-year guidance.

Traders are also digesting news that health insurer UnitedHealth (UNH) raised its full-year guidance and that online retailer Amazon (AMZN) is hiring for more than 50,000 seasonal positions this holiday season.

Shares of Citigroup (C) are also in focus after the financial giant announced that Vikram Pandit has stepped down as the company's Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board.

Citigroup also said its board has unanimously elected Michael Corbat as CEO and a director of the Board. Corbat previously served as Citigroup's CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Separate reports showing a rebound by industrial production and a continued increase by homebuilder confidence may also be contributing to the strength on Wall Street.

The Labor Department also released a report showing that consumer prices rose by slightly more than expected in the month of September due to another jump in energy prices.

Sector News

Steel stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 2.4 percent. With the gain, the index has risen to its best intraday level in almost a month.

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) and Olympic Steel (ZEUS) are turning in two of the steel sector's best performances, surging up by 6.5 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.

Oil service stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 1.9 percent. The strength in the sector comes in spite of a modest decrease by the price of crude oil.

Semiconductor, electronic storage, gold, and chemical stocks are also posting notable gains, moving higher along with most of the major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended the day up by 0.3 percent.

The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index jumped 1.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index soared 2.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure amid the strength on Wall Street. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, has risen by 5 basis points to 1.713 percent.

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