Stocks took another modest step further into record territory Wednesday after several companies reported profits that were stronger than expected, if not strong.
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Both sectors feature many stocks that pay dividends, making them attractive to investors searching for yield.
Dow e-minis were up 61 points, or 0.33 percent, with 21,628 contracts changing hands.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,165 as of 1:38 p.m.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 15 points, or 0.33 percent, on volume of 18,030 contracts.
USA stock index futures were higher on Wednesday, with the Dow industrials on track for its ninth straight day of gains, as results from Morgan Stanley and Microsoft helped spur investor optimism regarding the health of corporate earnings. Gold rose $9.40, or 0.7 percent, to $1,328 an ounce. It helped hold the industrial sector to the weakest gains of the day among the 10 sectors that make up the S&P 500, up 0.1 percent.
Still, second quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies, which started reporting in earnest this week, are now expected to decline by only 3 per cent, less severe than the 4.5 per cent drop estimated at the start of the month, according to Thomson Reuters.
Intel (INTC.O) shares were down 3.6 percent at $34.40 after the chipmaker reported revenue growth slowed at its key data center business.
Asian shares were mostly higher Thursday as Japan’s benchmark rose on hopes of Japanese government stimulus spending and better-than-expected earnings lifted Wall Street. Although the central bank isn’t expected to push benchmark rates higher, market participants will pore over the updated policy statement for clues on the pace and timing of the next rate hike, which could influence the USA dollar, Treasurys and the broader stock market. It was the first day of trading for the producer of natural gas and oil after it reported higher-than-expected earnings and raised its forecast for production this year.
Wall Street cooled off on Thursday as disappointing results from tech stalwart Intel and from transportation companies stalled momentum in a US corporate reporting season that has been better than feared.
NOT SO SWEET: Honeywell International fell $4.34, or 3.7 percent, to $114.32 to lead industrial stocks lower. The carrier’s revenue fell 4 percent because of the soft global economy, among other factors, but Wall Street was forecasting a steeper drop. The industrial sector was the only of the 10 that make up the S&P 500 to fall. A report on business in the United Kingdom was “truly frightful”, according to one economist, and raised expectations of more central bank stimulus there.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.(AMD) jumped 12% after the chip maker late Thursday swung to a quarterly profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/advanced-micro-devices-swings-to-a-profit-2016-07-21-17485351) and reported its first sales increase in nearly two years.
ENERGIZED: Southwestern Energy jumped $1.19 cents, or 9 percent, to $14.40. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond climbed to 2.31 percent from 2.29 percent.
The pound sank against the dollar on expectations for more stimulus from the Bank of England. It fell to $1.3102 from $1.3203.
Precious and industrial metals prices ended lower. It fell to $1.3101 from $1.3203.
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CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 105.87 yen from 105.76 the previous day.
