Join +750K new investors every month who copy stock picks from billionaire's portfoliosSign Up Free

US STOCKS-Apple, Boeing keep Wall St afloat, weak earnings stoke growth fears

Published 23/10/2019, 18:06
© Reuters.  US STOCKS-Apple, Boeing keep Wall St afloat, weak earnings stoke growth fears
US500
-
DJI
-
MSFT
-
AAPL
-
TXN
-
IXIC
-
META
-
SOX
-
SPXHC
-

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or

type LIVE/ in a news window.)

* Apple boosts S&P 500, Boeing lifts Dow

* Texas Instruments leads declines among chip stocks

* Anthem, Boston Scientific, Thermo Fisher jump on upbeat

profits

* Indexes up: Dow 0.05%, S&P 0.13%, Nasdaq 0.10%

(Updates to early afternoon, adds comment)

By Shreyashi Sanyal and Arjun Panchadar

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street was supported by gains in

Apple and Boeing shares on Wednesday, though weak earnings from

Caterpillar and Texas Instruments raised concerns of an impact

from the U.S.-China trade war on global growth.

Apple Inc AAPL.O shares rose 1.1% after Morgan Stanley

said the iPhone maker's soon-to-be-launched video streaming

service, Apple TV+, could boost its services revenue.

But tit-for-tat tariffs by Washington and Beijing prompted

profit and revenue warnings from Texas Instruments TXN.O and

Caterpillar Inc CAT.N . Texas Instruments, seen as a proxy for the microchip sector,

dropped 6%, weighing on the Philadelphia Semiconductor index

.SOX , while Caterpillar shares were flat.

"It's pretty clear there were some tough numbers coming out

from bellwether type names like Caterpillar and Boeing, and

certainly in the case of Boeing, people are shrugging it off,"

said Josh Wein, portfolio manager at Hennessy Funds in Chapel

Hill, North Carolina.

Boeing's shares rose 0.7%, lifting the blue-chip Dow Jones

index, after the world's largest planemaker reaffirmed the

timeline for its grounded 737 MAX's return to service, as

investors looked past quarterly profit that more than halved.

The S&P 500 has hovered near its record high this week after

signs of progress in trade talks between the world's top two

economies.

Investors are now waiting for results from big tech firms,

with Microsoft Corp MSFT.O scheduled to report after markets

close.

The earnings season has largely been upbeat, with more than

82% of the 124 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far

surpassing earnings expectations, according to Refinitiv data.

But analysts still project the first earnings contraction since

2016.

At 12:47 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI

was up 14.19 points, or 0.05%, at 26,802.29 and the S&P 500

.SPX was up 3.96 points, or 0.13%, at 2,999.95.

The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 7.93 points, or 0.10%,

at 8,112.23. A 1.4% gain in Facebook FB.O boosted the tech

heavy index after CEO Mark Zuckerberg sought to reassure U.S.

lawmakers about the company's planned digital currency, Libra.

A handful of healthcare companies with low exposure to China

rose on strong results, helping the S&P 500 healthcare sector

.SPXHC climb 0.7%.

Health insurer Anthem Inc ANTM.N and medical device makers

Boston Scientific Corp BSX.N , Thermo Fisher Scientific TMO.N

all gained between 3% and 6% after reporting

better-than-expected quarterly profits. However, Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N fell 2.4% after the

drugmaker missed third-quarter revenue estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.74-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.30-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 14 new 52-week highs and one new low,

while the Nasdaq recorded 40 new highs and 48 new lows.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.