U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher Following Largely Upbeat Earnings News
Following the substantial rebound seen in the previous session, stocks have seen further upside in morning trading on Wednesday. With the continued upward move, the major averages have more than offset the steep drop seen on Monday.
The major averages have given back some ground in recent trading but currently remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 193.66 points or 0.6 percent at 34,705.65, the Nasdaq is up 55.72 points or 0.4 percent at 14,554.60 and the S&P 500 is up 20.38 points or 0.5 percent at 4,343.44.
The continued strength on Wall Street partly reflects a positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings news from several big-name companies.
Dow components Coca-Cola (KO) and Verizon (VZ) have moved notably higher after reporting better than expected quarterly results and raising their full-year guidance.
Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is posting a more modest gain after reporting second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.
On the other hand, shares of Netflix (NFLX) have moved to the downside after the streaming giant reported weaker than expected second quarter earnings and forecast subscriber growth in the current quarter below analyst estimates.
Energy stocks have moved sharply higher, as the price of crude oil continues to recover from the steep drop seen on Monday. Crude for August delivery is surging $2.26 to $69.50 a barrel.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is up by 4.9 percent, the NYSE Arca Oil Index is up by 3.5 percent and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index is up by 2.4 percent.
Substantial strength is also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 3.4 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index continues to rebound after ending Monday’s trading at a five-month closing low.
Banking, semiconductor and steel stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, while some weakness has emerged among biotechnology stocks.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all shown strong moves upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has jumped by 1.4 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 1.8 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the pullback seen over the course of the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.6 basis points at 1.265 percent.
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