US close: Stocks end higher on well-received corporate news
US stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with sentiment underpinned by a series of better-than-expected corporate releases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.2% - marking its seventh record close in a row - the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq racked up gains of 1.1%, boosted by Microsoft.
Meanwhile, oil prices settled higher after the Energy Information Administration said crude inventories were down 2.3m barrels in the week to 15 July, more or less in line with expectations for a 2.1m barrel drop. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.7% at $44.95 a barrel while Brent crude was 0.9% firmer at $47.10.
With a lack of economic data on the calendar, corporate earnings dominated the agenda on Wednesday.
In particular, Morgan Stanley was in focus after reporting second-quarter results that beat analysts’ forecasts with earnings per share of 75 cents and revenue of $8.9bn. Shares jumped after the results. Earnings already out this week from sector peers JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have all topped estimates.
Microsoft was also a high riser as results released late on Tuesday surpassed estimates, with fourth-quarter earnings per share of 69 cents and revenue of $22.64bn. “Microsoft’s cloud business is going from strength to strength, offsetting the tech company’s attachment to the declining PC market,” said CMC Markets’ Jasper Lawler.
Oilfield services company Halliburton edged higher after stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.
Tupperware bucked the trend, however, after it said second-quarter earnings and revenue fell compared to a year earlier, although the numbers were in line with analysts’ forecasts.
S&P 500 - Risers
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $106.85 +9.68%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $66.82 +7.50%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.74 +5.33%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $55.91 +5.31%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $47.20 +5.05%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $703.05 +4.64%
Navient Corporation (NAVI) $14.37 +4.36%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $91.15 +4.25%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $28.30 +3.93%
TE Connectivity Ltd (TEL) $61.87 +3.83%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Kellogg Co. (K) $82.26 -5.43%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $39.29 -5.07%
M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) $113.81 -4.14%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $41.98 -3.25%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $64.58 -3.08%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $54.09 -2.91%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $27.00 -2.70%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $20.38 -2.58%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $27.80 -2.28%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $24.50 -1.76%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $55.91 +5.31%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $30.63 +2.37%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.69 +1.54%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $161.36 +1.12%
Visa Inc. (V) $79.36 +0.81%
American Express Co. (AXP) $64.48 +0.50%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $106.04 +0.40%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $137.41 +0.31%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $143.02 +0.30%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $67.68 +0.28%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.22 -1.26%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $85.32 -0.99%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $93.93 -0.57%
General Electric Co. (GE) $32.78 -0.46%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $105.59 -0.42%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $126.06 -0.35%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.51 -0.26%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $55.62 -0.14%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $125.14 -0.09%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $79.69 -0.06%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $55.91 +5.31%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $47.20 +5.05%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $86.88 +4.90%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $703.05 +4.64%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $91.15 +4.25%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $93.76 +3.69%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $18.04 +3.38%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $84.17 +3.23%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $13.59 +2.80%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $152.59 +2.63%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $27.00 -2.70%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $27.80 -2.28%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $30.10 -2.05%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $31.03 -1.87%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $45.17 -0.90%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $88.17 -0.90%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $255.80 -0.43%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $41.38 -0.34%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $160.65 -0.34%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $60.51 -0.31%