Stocks are opening solidly higher on Wall Street, Tuesday, July 12, 2016, putting the market on track for another milestone.
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A broad rally propelled the S&P 500 and Dow industrials to close at a fresh record on Tuesday, as crude rallied and Alcoa Inc.’s results bolstered optimism on corporate health amid the start of the earnings season. The Nasdaq composite index, which has lagged the two main US market barometers, turned slightly positive for the year.
The Dow Jones rose 80 points to end the day at 18,226 points and the S&P 500 was up 7 points to close at 2,137. Eastern time. That is just 11 points below its previous high reached in May past year.
The S&P 500 was up 13.83 points, or 0.65 percent, at 2,150.99. The Nasdaq rose 39 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,028.
The 128-year-old aluminum producer reported earnings after the close Monday that exceeded analysts’ estimates after profit from its vehicle and jet parts businesses offset declines in prices for the metal. Shares of Alcoa jumped 3.4% after the aluminum maker reported earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations.
Yields rose as expectations of new stimulus in Japan boosted stocks and reduced demand for safe haven bonds, and ahead of the Treasury Department’s auction of $20 billion in 10-year notes.
Seagate Technology surged $5.26, or 21.8 percent, to $29.35 after forecasting strong sales. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised new government spending to help jolt Asia’s second-biggest economy back to life now that his Liberal Democratic Party has won in parliamentary elections. Investors are betting that he’ll keep flooding the market with money by expanding bond purchases.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1 percent to 16,256.81 and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 percent to 1,998.22. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3%.
MSCI’s all-country world equity index was last up 0.83 percent at 408.24.
POKEMON POWER: Shares of Nintendo Co. jumped 12.7 percent in Tokyo, fueled by the craze for “Pokemon Go”, a smartphone game that’s become the top grossing app in the iPhone store less than a week after its release in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.
Benchmark U.S. crude added $2.04 to close at $46.80 a barrel in NY.
Brent crude was last up $1.98 at $48.23 a barrel.
Investors’ appetite for equities has increased after robust economic data, including a stronger-than-expected U.S.jobs report for June last Friday, and low yields on government bonds.
Recent reports on manufacturing and the service sector also indicated a positive trend, with US economic growth expected to be “meaningfully higher in the second quarter than the first”, said Russell, pointing to projections of 2.4 percent growth in the second quarter following GDP of only 1.1 percent in the first three months of the year.
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The U.S. dollar hit its highest level in more than two weeks against the yen of 104.65 yen on the global risk appetite and anticipation of more Japanese stimulus. In other energy trading in NY, wholesale gasoline rose 5 cents to $1.43 a gallon, heating oil rose 5 cents to $1.46 a gallon and natural gas rose 3 cents to $2.73 per 1,000 cubic feet.
