The Dow Jones Industrial Average clocked its seventh straight record close Wednesday amid better-than-expected earnings from Microsoft (MSFT) , the best performing stock in the blue-chip index.
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In 3.08pm trading in NY, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.1 percent. It is seeking its ninth day of gains in a row, which would mark its longest daily win streak since a 10-session rally more than three years ago in March 2013.
USA stocks advanced, pushing to fresh records, as quarterly results from Microsoft and Morgan Stanley spurred optimism that corporate earnings can support further gains.
Earnings reports from a handful of major banking institutions also motivated the market Wednesday. The tech giant reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 69 cents a share, 11 cents above forecasts. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1 percent to 21,882.48 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7 percent to 5,488.70. The tech-weighted Nasdaq climbed 53 points for a close of 5,089.93.
Several reports on the USA economy have also come in better than expected in recent weeks, which has helped drive the run for stocks to a record. It lowered its estimate for worldwide growth to 3.1 percent this year, 0.1 percentage point lower than its previous forecast.
Halliburton dropped 1.6 per cent after reporting a loss of US$3.2 billion in the second quarter, due mainly to a US$3.5 billion payout to Baker Hughes after the Justice Department blocked Halliburton’s proposed takeover of its rival.
Shares of Volkswagen rallied 6 percent after the company posted first-half earnings that bettered expectations. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves in the opposite direction of its price, rose to 1.59 percent from 1.56 percent late Tuesday. Utilities fell 0.5 percent. It’s a turnaround from the trend that’s held for much of 2016, where high dividend-payers led the market as investors sought alternatives to low-yielding bonds. Fox News is a key profit maker for the company. The Nasdaq composite index surged 1%. WTI crude oil for August delivery settled at $44.94 a barrel, up 0.7% for the day following a drawdown on crude inventories offset by rise in gasoline stockpiles. Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, rose 15 cents to $47.32 a barrel. Shares rose 2.8% early Wednesday.
In other quarterly reports, Morgan Stanley was up 2.4 percent after its profit topped analysts’ estimates, rounding off upbeat results from the six biggest Wall Street banks.
“The most important thing is that it’s not all that unusual when you have a new high to get a new high”, said Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at Convergex, in an interview.
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CURRENCIES: The euro fell to $1.1005 from $1.1015 late Tuesday, and the British pound rose to $1.3174 from $1.3093.
