(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* JPMorgan tops estimates, Wells Fargo swings to loss
* Delta warns air travel recovery two years away
* Technology falls the most among S&P sectors
* Dow up 0.89%, S&P rises 0.23%, Nasdaq down 0.42%
(Adds quote, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
July 14 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow indexes edged higher
in volatile trading on Tuesday as investors digested a mixed bag
of quarterly earnings reports from U.S. lenders but technology
stocks fell on worries over new business restrictions in
California.
Largest U.S. lender JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N was up 0.2%
after it posted a smaller-than-expected 51% drop in
second-quarter profit.
However, Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N tumbled 5.7% after booking
a quarterly loss for the first time since the 2008 financial
crisis. Citigroup Inc C.N was also down 2.7% as it reported a
steep fall in quarterly profit. The S&P 500 banks index .SPXBK slipped 1.3% as the banks
set aside a combined $28 billion to cover potential losses on
loans to borrowers hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
"We're clearly in for more volatility as earnings season is
now beginning, and these increases in the virus in California,
Texas, Tennessee and Florida are going to continue to keep
people on edge," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading
and derivatives at Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.
Wall Street has reclaimed most of its coronavirus-driven
losses since March as a raft of monetary and fiscal stimulus and
upbeat economic data raised hopes of a swift post-pandemic
recovery.
But a recent record surge in COVID-19 cases and new business
restrictions, particularly in California, have sparked a selloff
in tech stocks, with the Nasdaq pulling back about 6% from its
intraday record high on Monday.
Technology .SPLRCT , consumer discretionary .SPLRCD and
communication services .SPLRCS indexes slipped on Tuesday.
They have performed strongly this year driven by solid gains in
their respective components - Apple Inc AAPL.O , Amazon.com
AMZN.O and Facebook Inc .FB.O .
"A lot of these companies have acquired historically high
valuations and if you become more anxious about the market
direction in general, those would be the first few you tend to
sell if you are looking to protect your profits," said Keith
Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at Globalt in Atlanta.
At 11:27 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 232.92 points, or 0.89%, at 26,318.72, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 7.16 points, or 0.23%, at 3,162.38. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was down 43.84 points, or 0.42%, at 10,347.00.
Investors are bracing for what could be the sharpest drop in
quarterly earnings for S&P 500 firms since the 2008 financial
crisis, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX rose for a second straight
day to its highest in two weeks.
Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N fell 4.1% as it warned it will
be more than two years before the industry sees a sustainable
recovery from the "staggering" impact of the coronavirus
pandemic, with demand largely tracking the curve of infections
in different places. Data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer prices rebounded in
June after three straight monthly declines, but the underlying
trend suggested inflation would remain muted. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.37-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded three new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 20 new highs and 25 new lows.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
COVID-19's growing potential economic impact https://tmsnrt.rs/307zCt5
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>