Wall Street rides on upbeat earnings
WALL STREET’s three major indexes rose on Tuesday with the S&P 500 posting its strongest gain in three weeks as a string of healthy earnings boosted investor optimism and a rebound in the Turkish lira eased fears of a broader financial contagion.
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s three major indexes rose on Tuesday with the S&P 500 posting its strongest gain in three weeks as a string of healthy earnings boosted investor optimism and a rebound in the Turkish lira eased fears of a broader financial contagion.
Gains were widespread, and the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended fourday losing streaks.
The Turkish lira regained some ground a day after it plunged to an all-time low. The rebound came as the country’s central bank took steps to ease pressure on the currency.
Shares of major US banks reversed course on easing Turkey fears, with the S&P financial sector closing the session up 0.9%.
Investors also focused on second-quarter results, as the reporting season draws closer to the finish line. So far, of 458 companies in the S&P 500 that have posted results, 79% have topped Wall Street estimates.
DRIVING FACTOR
“What we’ve seen thus far this year, is that rising earnings estimates have really been the driving factor behind (market) performance,” said Bill Northey, senior vice-president at US Bank Wealth Management in Helena, Montana.
“There’s this broad constructive fundamental backdrop, and some of the macro geopolitical factors are just receiving a little bit of relief today,” Mr. Northey added.
Home Depot, Inc. beat consensus estimates, reporting strongerthan-expected sales despite signs of a slowdown in the US housing market. However, shares of the home improvement chain — the first of the major brick-andmortar retailers to post secondquarter earnings — slipped 0.5%.
Shares of rival Lowe’s Companies, Inc. rose 1.3%.
Coach handbag maker Tapestry, Inc. reported a 31% jump in quarterly revenue. The company’s shares jumped 12%.
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. reached a one-year high and ended the session up 7.8% after the company posted profit above estimates and announced a new share buyback program.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 112.22 points or 0.45% to 25,299.92; the S&P 500 gained 18.03 points or 0.64% to 2,839.96; and the Nasdaq Composite added 51.19 points or 0.65% to 7,870.89.
All 11 of the major sectors in the S&P 500 closed in positive territory.
Tesla, Inc.’s shares dropped 2.5% after the company said a special committee formed to negotiate taking electric automaker private had yet to see a firm offer from Chief Executive Elon Musk.
Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. climbed 4% on news of a potential takeover by China Investment Corp. and DEP Capital.
Grocer Kroger Co. announced it would partner with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to sell its private label products on the e-commerce giant’s Tmall platform in China. The stock closed up 2.4%.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.55 to one; on Nasdaq, a 1.74-to-one ratio favored advancers.
Volume on US exchanges was 5.89 billion shares, compared to the 6.43 billion average over the last 20 trading days. —