Along with Microsoft, German software developer SAP (SAP) posted a standout gain after reporting stronger than expected second quarter earnings growth.
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The Dow Jones industrial average inched 25.96 points higher, or 0.1 percent, for its eighth consecutive gain to set another record at 18,559.01.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 nations, rose 0.23 points or 0.06%, to 411.45.
Turkish stock prices, however, were down 7.4%. Its earnings topped analysts’ expectations, and the company credited momentum in its cloud-computing business. The company, which provides uniforms, restroom supplies and other products for offices, surged $9.98, or 10.2 percent, to $107.38. That’s what usually happens, because analysts tend to lower their earnings forecasts for companies as each reporting season approaches.
As for whether stocks are expensive, one big part of the answer is how much profit companies are producing.
Markets have become calm enough that the VIX, an index that measures investors’ expectations of future volatility in the stock market, fell 2.2 percent and is near its lowest level since 2014.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.58 percent. Shares of the banking giant rose 2.84 percent in the early trading.
The S&P 500 posted 46 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 107 new highs and 18 new lows.
Stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Wednesday, more than offsetting the pullback seen in the previous session. The price of gold fell $17.40, or 1.3 percent, to $1,314.90 per ounce. That’s a sharp turnaround from the end of June, when the S&P 500 swung at least that much in six straight days, with one fear-inducing drop of 3.6 percent.
Semiconductor stocks also showed a strong move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 1.6 percent. France’s CAC 40 was down 0.6 percent, and Germany’s DAX shed 0.8 percent.
While most global stock markets post gains, investors scaled back their holdings of low-yielding government bonds, with US and German yields near their highest levels since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union on June 23.
European stocks edged higher as German producer price data supported expectations of a pickup in the country’s very low rate of inflation and tech heavyweight SAP (SAP) beat quarterly profit and revenue expectations.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. oil futures added 16 cents to $45.61 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Murphy Oil fell 54 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $30.46. Silver fell 7 cents to $20.01, and copper rose almost 3 cents to $2.26 per pound.
ANALYST’S TAKE: “Speculation on monetary easing has run out of steam and market focus is now turned to company earnings, which are the better proxy of the underlying economic performance”, Margaret Yang, a markets strategist at CMC in Singapore, said in a daily commentary.
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CURRENCIES: The euro fell to $1.1004 from $1.1015 late Tuesday, and the British pound rose to $1.3162 from $1.3093. The dollar rose to 106.83 Japanese yen from 106.09 yen.
