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US-STOCKS-MARKETS
Dow jumps more than 2% as US stocks rebound on strong earnings
NEW YORK, Oct 17, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Wall Street stocks surged higher
Tuesday as a batch of strong earnings reports pushed aside lingering doubts
about the economy and trade fights that have pressured markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished a buoyant session a hair below
session peaks, ending at 25,798.42, up 2.2 percent or nearly 550 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 also gained 2.2 percent to 2,809.92, while the
tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.9 percent to 7,645.49.
Investors were cheered by strong earnings from banks and health care
companies that helped them ignore — at least for now — the worries about
trade fights and higher US interest rates that had sparked a steep, two-day
selloff last week.
“Today what we are seeing is largely related to earnings results,” said
Lindsey Bell, investment strategist at CFRA Research, who added that the
earnings thus far, while upbeat, came from a relatively small number of major
companies.
“It is not going to be all good news throughout the earnings season,” she
said.
Investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs won 5.8 percent and 3.0
percent following earnings results.
Dow members Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth Group won 2.0 percent and
4.6 percent after reporting earnings.
Another Dow company, Walmart jumped 2.1 percent despite cutting its full-
year earnings forecast following spending connected to a large acquisition in
India. The giant retailer argued the investment was needed to meet consumer
demand as it competes with Amazon for market share.
Software giant Adobe shot up 9.5 percent after outlining revenue targets
that topped analyst expectations.
Analysts also cited Labor Department data that showed record job openings
in August, suggesting a tightening labor market.
BSS/AFP/HR/0940