Stocks rise to record highs with earnings in focus
BNN Bloomberg
U.S. stocks rose to another record high, while European equities also gained, as corporate earnings helped boost sentiment amid lingering concerns about inflation and growth.
U.S. stocks rose to another record high, while European equities also gained, as corporate earnings helped boost sentiment amid lingering concerns about inflation and growth.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 advanced as Tuesday’s round of earnings kicked off, with United Parcel Service Inc. and General Electric Co. gaining after strong results. Eli Lilly & Co. advanced after raising full-year forecasts. Facebook Inc. was flat as a pledge to buy back more shares and increase spending on digital offerings was offset by a revenue miss. Big-tech peers Twitter Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Inc. are reporting after the market close on Tuesday.
“The outlook is getting healthier,” Esty Dwek, chief investment officer at FlowBank, said on Bloomberg TV. “Growth has mostly been delayed, not derailed, whether it was the delta variant, some of these supply chains, on and off mandates around vaccines and closures, depending on where you are in the world.”
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose more than 0.5 per cent, edging close to a the record high reached in September. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc gained after the maker of Strepsils throat lozenges raised its sales forecast. Novartis AG advanced on news it may spin off its generic-drug unit.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield and the dollar were steady. The debate over price pressures continues: former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said officials are unlikely to deal with “inflation reality” successfully until it’s fully recognized.
