At the close of trading, the index was up 32 points or 0.58 percent at 5,566, resuming its climb after yesterday’s retreat that followed eight straight sessions of gains. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 84 points, or 0.5 percent, to 18,509.
Advertisement
HIT THE BRAKES: Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla skidded after investors weren’t impressed with CEO Elon Musk’s “master plan” for the company, which was posted on Tesla’s website late Wednesday.
Eight of the 10 major S&P 500 sectors were lower. Its earnings topped analysts’ expectations, and the company credited momentum in its cloud-computing business.
Hasbro was the day’s worst-performing stock in the S&P 500, despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
The quarterly earnings season is giving fresh impetus to a global equities rally that’s added nearly $5 trillion to stock values since the post-Brexit low on June 27. The European Central Bank left all its interest rates at record lows, but its head said that it could add further stimulus as it gets a better sense of the effects of the United Kingdom’s recent vote to leave the European Union.
Several reports on the USA economy have also come in better than expected in recent weeks, which has helped stock indexes reach record highs.
Duessel does not see a recession on the horizon, and she says stock prices can remain high because government bonds and other alternatives look even less attractive.
Netflix was one of the decliners to pull down the S&P 500.
“If equity markets can’t rally in this environment they never will and really the key concern holding back fresh capital is significantly elevated valuations”.
Along with Microsoft, German software developer SAP (SAP) posted a standout gain after reporting stronger than expected second quarter earnings growth.
CHIPPED: Intel fell $1.49, or 4.2 percent, to $34.19 after the chipmaker reported slower revenue growth last quarter than analysts expected.
Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) – or the market’s “fear gauge” – marked its lowest close since August 2014.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. oil futures added 16 cents to $45.61 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.4 percent on a weaker yen and a Pokemon-powered rally in Nintendo shares.
At the opening bell Wednesday, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $44.73 a barrel – a 1.5 percent loss, and worldwide benchmark Brent crude was down 1.3 percent to $46.06. The SoftBank deal sent ARM’s US-listed shares surging 40.5 percent, while the semiconductor index rose 1.5 percent.
The euro fell to $1.1015 from $1.1068 late Monday, and the British pound fell to $1.3093 from $1.3260. A report showed US jobless claims unexpectedly fell to a three-month low last week, while home resales unexpectedly rose in June to their fastest pace in more than nine years.
Advertisement
Existing home sales rose 1.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 5.57 million in June, the strongest level since February 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.
