Solid earnings reports send markets higher
Dow industrial gains 431.72 points
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks climbed Tuesday on another volatile day of trading as solid earnings reports from several big companies buoyed investors.
Many of the best-performing stocks came from parts of the market that have fared the worst during the market’s October plunge. Those included smaller and more U.S.-focused companies, Internet and media companies, basic materials makers, and energy companies.
The benchmark S&P 500 index jumped 41.38 points, or 1.6 percent, to 2,682.63, a day after closing at a five-month low. But the index is still 8.5 percent below the all-time high it set Sept. 20. Stocks have had a few solid gains in this stretch but failed to maintain the momentum.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 431.72 points, or 1.8 percent, to 24,874.64. The Nasdaq composite advanced 111.36 points, or 1.6 percent, to 7,161.65. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 29.33 points, or 2 percent, to 1,506.64.
Trading remained uneven: the S&P 500 fell at the start of trading and then turned sharply higher. In
the afternoon the index gave up all of its gains and briefly turned lower, but recovered to finish near its highest levels of the day. More than four shares rose for every one that fell in the S&P 500.
The earnings season that began in mid-October has been a mixed bag for investors and has contributed to the wild swings in trading. On Tuesday, Oreo maker Mondelez and athletic apparel maker Under Armour both jumped after strong third-quarter reports.
Corporate earnings are up about 20 percent this year, boosted by the strong U.S. economy and lower corporate taxes. Analysts expect company profits to keep growing in 2019, but at a slower pace. The stock market tends to track company profits, so the projected slowdown in growth has contributed to investors’ anxiety. There is also concern that the economy will slow
from the hot pace of the past two quarters, when it grew 4.2 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.
Julian Emanuel, chief equity and derivative strategist for BTIG, said investors are worried about two things that could slow the economy: the U.S.-China trade dispute, and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.
“All of this fear about growth is being traded on something we don’t see in the statistics right now,” he said. “You factually don’t have signs of an economic slowdown yet.”
The S&P 500 is on track for its worst monthly performance since the current bull market started in March 2009. On Monday the benchmark index closed at its lowest level since early May following a report that the Trump administration could announce more tariffs on imports from China in December.
Mondelez, which makes Cadbury chocolates and Trident gum in addition to Oreos, rose by the most in a year after its quarterly profit surpassed analysts’ projections. Its stock gained 5 percent to $42.12. Other household goods makers also did well. Walmart rose 2.6 percent to $102.42.
Among media companies, video game maker Take-Two Interactive soared 11 percent to $124.01 after it said its game Red Dead Redemption 2 brought in $725 million in
retail sales over its first three days. Take-Two shares are sharply lower this month as media, Internet and technology companies have taken a beating.
Some of the worst losses during the market’s current downturn were sustained by longtime investor favorites that had soared in recent months. Amazon and Netflix have both plunged 24 percent in October, but those companies had more to lose than many others did: Amazon is still up 31 percent this year, and Netflix has climbed 49 percent.
Elsewhere among Internet and media companies, Comcast jumped 4.8 percent and Facebook rose 2.9 percent to $146.22. The social media company rose another 1.4 percent in aftermarket trading after its third-quarter profit was larger than analysts expected.
Among technology companies, chipmaker Intel rose 5.2 percent to $47.76.
While those stocks have slumped lately, the S&P 500’s index of utilities and household goods makers have each climbed 3 percent this month. The broader S&P 500 has tumbled 7.9 percent over the same time.
General Electric cut its dividend again. The company halved its dividend to 12 cents from 24 cents in December, and cut it to 1 cent Tuesday. The struggling industrial giant also said the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into a $22 billion charge it booked to its power business this year. Securities regulators were also conducting a civil probe.
The stock sank 8.8 percent to $10.18, its lowest price since April 2009.
The Tuesday rally was welcomed by U.S. stock investors on edge after largely stellar earnings have failed to provide sustained relief to selling that began over concern that rising interest rates will crimp economic growth. Attention will turn to major tech results including from Apple and Friday’s jobs report. Trade also remains in
focus, while the American midterm elections on Tuesday have started creeping into the calculus.
European stocks mostly fell following a report that the region’s economy slowed down in the third quarter. The economy of the 19-country eurozone unexpectedly slowed in the third quarter. It expanded by 0.2 percent in the July-September period, which fell short of analyst forecasts. Experts say growth is likely to pick up again, but it’s unlikely to match last year’s strong performance as the region faces issues like Britain’s departure from the EU, trade disputes and a clash with Italy over that country’s budget.
Germany’s DAX fell 0.4 percent and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.2 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.1 percent.
A weakening of the Chinese yuan helped some stock indexes in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.5 percent after official data showed that the unemployment rate dipped to 2.3 percent in September. South Korea’s Kospi picked up 0.9 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9 percent.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.12 percent from 3.08 percent.
Benchmark U.S. crude shed 1.3 percent to $66.18 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 1.8 percent to $75.91 per barrel in London.
Wholesale gasoline fell 1 percent to $1.81 a gallon. Heating oil lost 1.1 percent to $2.26 a gallon and natural gas declined 0.3 percent to $3.19 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold lost 0.2 percent to $1,225.30 an ounce. Silver rose 0.1 percent to $14.46 an ounce. Copper slumped 2.8 percent to $2.66 a pound.
The dollar rose to 112.96 yen from 112.35 yen. The euro fell to $1.1342 from $1.1390.
Information for this article was contributed by Marley Jay of The Associated Press and by Jeremy Herron and Sarah Ponczek of Bloomberg News.