Stocks Close On Firm Note For 2nd Straight Day On Earnings Hopes

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks ended on a firm note on Tuesday, extending gains from previous session, with technology shares once again outperforming others, amid optimism about earnings.

A batch of encouraging earnings updates, and slightly easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates helped underpin sentiment.

The major averages all ended notably higher. The Dow settled with a gain of 263.71 points or 0.69 percent at 38,503.69. The S&P 500 climbed 59.95 points or 1.2 percent to 5,070.55, while the Nasdaq gained 245.33 points or 1.59 percent to settle at 15,696.64.

Several technology heavyweights such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms are scheduled to announce their quarterly earnings this week.

Other big names including Boeing, Intel, American Airlines, Chevron and Exxon Mobil are also slated to report their quarterly earnings during the course of this week.

Verizon rallied about 3.5 percent. American Express climbed 2.5 percent, while Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, Walt Disney, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase and IBM ended higher by 1.3 to 2 percent.

Netflix, Palo Alto Networks, Nvidia, Illumina, Moderna and Microchip Technology ended sharply higher.

Tesla Inc. reported a few minutes after the closing bell that its total earnings totaled $1.13 billion, or $0.34 per share in the first quarter. This compares with $2.51 billion, or $0.73 per share, in last year's first quarter. Excluding items, Tesla Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $1.54 billion or $0.45 per share for the period.

Globe Life soared 13.5 percent, topping the list of gainers in the S&P 500 index. Danaher and GE Aerospace surged on strong results. Kimberly-Clark and General Motors also ended sharply higher.

Walmart drifted down 2.3 percent. Boeing ended down nearly 1 percent. Invesco and Pepsico also ended sharply lower, with the latter dropping on somewhat disappointing quarterly results.

In economic news, the S&P Global US Composite PMI declined to 50.9 in April from 52.1 in the previous month, signaling only a slight expansion in the country's private sector, which was the softest since December, a preliminary estimate showed.

The S&P Global Flash US Manufacturing PMI fell to a four-month low of 49.9 in April 2024, from 52.0 in March. The reading was expected to come in at 52.0. The S&P Global US Services PMI dropped to a five-month low of 50.9 in April.

A report released by the Commerce Department showed new home sales spiked by 8.8 percent to an annual rate of 693,000 in March after plunging by 5.1 percent to a revised rate of 637,000 in February.

Economists had expected new home sales to rise to an annual rate of 668,000 from the 662,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Building permits fell by 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.467 million in March 2024, revised from a preliminary estimate of 1.458 million. This follows a 2.3 percent increase in February.

Traders await more economic data this week, including the release of first-quarter U.S. GDP data as well as the core personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7 percent.

The major European markets closed higher on the day. While the German DAX Index surged 1.55 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.81 percent, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended higher by 0.26 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures for June ended higher by $1.46 or 1.78% at $83.36 a barrel. Gold futures for April ended down by $4.50 or about 0.19% at $2,327.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar was trading at 154.82 yen compared to the 154.85 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar was at 1.0704, compared to yesterday's $1.0655.