Airlines, carmakers lift stock indexes
Airline and automaker stocks took off Tuesday, helping U.S. indexes push a bit further into record territory. Trading was again quiet overall, with only modest moves for bond yields, commodities and other markets.
Airlines led the way after Delta Air Lines updated its forecast for third-quarter results. Delta expects to report roughly 2% growth in a key revenue measurement, which would be at the high end of the forecast range it gave a month earlier after accounting for the hit it took from Hurricane Irma.
Delta jumped 6.6% to $51.25, notching its best day since January 2015. United Continental, American Airlines Group and Southwest Airlines rose more than 4%.
Outside of airlines and a handful of other big movers, though, markets were generally quiet. No big economic reports were on the docket and few companies reported quarterly results.
In upcoming weeks, the market will be looking to hear more about whether Washington will cut tax rates. Investors may also get clues about who the next chairman of the Federal Reserve will be, and most companies will start reporting their third-quarter results.
In the meantime, some economic reports, such as this week’s upcoming report on hiring, may look abnormally weak because of recent hurricanes. But investors are expecting to see temporarily weaker numbers, which would limit the effect, said Steve Chiavarone, portfolio manager at Federated Investors.
GM climbed 3.1% to $43.45 and Ford rose 2.1% to $12.34 after the automakers reported strong U.S. sales growth for last month.
Lennar advanced 4.8% to $55.35 after the home builder reported stronger quarterly sales and earnings than analysts expected. Interest rates remain relatively low, and the strengthening job market is helping more people decide to buy homes.
Equifax and Wells Fargo both rose, even though representatives for the companies received tongue lashings on Capitol Hill. Equifax rose 2.4% to $110.45. Wells Fargo edged up 0.2% to $55.58.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.32% from 2.34%. The two-year yield fell to 1.46% from 1.49% and the 30-year yield fell to 2.86% from 2.87%.
The dollar inched up to 112.90 yen from 112.65 yen. The euro rose to $1.1752 from $1.1746 and the British pound fell to $1.3247 from $1.3286.
Gold slipped $1.20 to settle at $1,274.60 an ounce. Silver was close to flat at $16.65 an ounce. Copper rose 1 cent to $2.96 a pound.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell 16 cents to $50.42 a barrel. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, fell 12 cents to $56 a barrel. Natural gas fell 2 cents to $2.90 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil fell 2 cents to $1.75 a gallon and wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $1.57 a gallon.