US close: Stocks finish higher ahead of Apple results
Stocks in the US finished higher on Tuesday, ahead of the eagerly awaited quarterly results from technology giant Apple which were due out after the close and key risk events scheduled for later in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.17% at 20,949.89, the S&P 500 added 0.12% to 2,391.17 and the Nasdaq 100 ended 0.26% firmer at 5,644.07.
LCG analyst Jasper Lawler pointed out: "Stocks in the US opened tentatively higher.
First quarter results from Apple could be key for whether the Nasdaq can keep up its run of good form.
“Optimism for earnings growth from the FANG stocks is leading the market higher, even as the US government teeters on a shutdown.”
At the weekend, US lawmakers reached an agreement on a $1.1trn spending bill to keep the federal government ticking over until September, and now investors were looking to tomorrow's Federal Reserve policy decision and the monthly US jobs report on Friday.
Societe Generale said relief that the US economy did not grind to a complete halt last quarter and optimism over faster growth this quarter means there is no compelling reason to expect the Fed to turn more dovish at this week's meeting.
"No change in the fed funds rate is expected tomorrow and the forward guidance should not change much if at all compared to the last meeting in March.
“Having laboured hard in 1Q to get markets to re-price future rate expectations higher, the Fed will not want to see its hard work undone especially if it emerges that 1Q economic slowdown was transitory.”
In corporate news, shares in chip-maker AMD plummeted 24.23% after the chip-maker disappointed investors with its outlook for margins.
Stock in Aetna was 1.56% higher after the health insurer said it swung to a loss in the first quarter of $1.11 per share from a profit of $2.08.
Mastercard was another top riser, moving 1.5% after the credit card issuer posted adjusted first quarter earnings per share of $1.01, up from 86 cents in the year ago period.
Altria Group shares were also on the front foot, adding 0.04%, after the cigarette maker missed analyst forecasts for both its top and bottom line.
Dow Jones - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.97 1.82%
Visa Inc. (V) $92.54 1.40%
3M Co. (MMM) $196.53 0.88%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $34.24 0.79%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $147.51 0.63%
Boeing Co. (BA) $183.44 0.58%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $79.93 0.57%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $62.69 0.51%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $154.95 0.48%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $43.39 0.39%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $86.22 -1.00%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $120.36 -0.68%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $86.50 -0.64%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $105.36 -0.53%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.61 -0.50%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $101.51 -0.48%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $114.37 -0.31%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $174.14 -0.26%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $69.30 -0.16%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.05 -0.01%
S&P 500 - Risers
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $18.66 21.56%
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) $15.27 13.79%
Coach Inc. (COH) $43.15 11.38%
Martin Marietta Mtrl (MLM) $239.84 7.62%
Cummins Inc. (CMI) $160.56 6.10%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $47.83 5.35%
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $73.94 5.22%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $1.93 4.32%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $43.87 4.25%
Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $128.45 4.13%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $41.69 -8.88%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $24.95 -7.15%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $15.77 -5.40%
Borg Warner Inc. (BWA) $40.88 -4.46%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $10.92 -4.38%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $78.99 -3.61%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $54.02 -3.48%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $13.53 -3.43%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $40.28 -3.29%
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) $125.26 -3.09%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $184.11 4.33%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $43.87 4.25%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $49.05 3.18%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $68.04 2.84%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $38.17 2.06%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $62.64 2.02%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $288.59 1.90%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $225.45 1.87%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.97 1.82%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $138.99 1.75%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $103.48 -2.96%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $4.84 -2.42%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $66.94 -2.01%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $337.53 -1.87%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $27.77 -1.84%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $118.41 -1.78%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $95.93 -1.72%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $265.59 -1.56%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $318.89 -1.22%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $62.69 -1.06%