Wall Street rises on earnings and mega-cap outlook
U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, marking a second consecutive day of gains as investors continued to build on renewed optimism from the previous session.
Positive earnings reports from GM, GE Aerospace, PepsiCo, UPS, and Lockheed Martin contributed to the upbeat mood and propelled the market higher ahead of the opening bell.
Preliminary data shows that at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed +263.71 points, or +0.69%, to close at 38,503.69.
The broad-based Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained +59.95 points, or +1.20%, to 5,070.55, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added +252.23 points, or +1.63%, to 15,703.54.
Ten out of 11 S&P 500 sectors advanced, led by gains in equities in the communication services and technology sectors.
Tesla led the 'Magnificent Seven' in reporting its first-quarter results, with shares surging +6% in extended-hours trading.
The company announced the launch of new electric vehicle models despite quarterly revenue missing analyst estimates.
Later this week, investors anticipate earnings reports from other major tech companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms, which will provide further insight into the sector's performance.
Among the 'Mag 7', Alphabet rose by +1.2%, Amazon added +1.4%, Meta gained +3.2%, Tesla rose +1.8%, Microsoft rose +1.5%, Apple increased by +0.6%, and Nvidia posted a gain of +3.6%.
In other shares, Spotify surged +11.4% following its report that its gross profit exceeded 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for the first time.
Similarly, Danaher saw a +7.2% increase after beating quarterly profit expectations.
GE Aerospace shares rose +8.3% after surpassing sales expectations, while UPS shares increased +2.4% after the delivery giant exceeded earnings expectations.
Conversely, JetBlue shares plummeted nearly -19% as the low-cost carrier adjusted its annual revenue forecast downwards following lukewarm first-quarter revenue.
Meanwhile, investors are focusing on crucial U.S. economic data ahead of the Fed meeting.
First, Thursday will see the release of first-quarter GDP data, followed by Friday's reading of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation gauge.
It is expected to rise slightly to 2.6% in March from 2.5% in the previous month.
Federal Reserve officials cautioned last week that the central bank could maintain high-interest rates for some time to address persistent inflation concerns.
Despite expectations for rate cuts following last year's decline in inflation, recent reports indicating continued high inflation have raised worries.
Fed policymakers are currently in a media blackout period leading up to their May 1 policy meeting."
Meanwhile, in the U.S. government bond markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other economy-dictating loans, finished at 4.60%, while the policy-sensitive two-year yield, which tends to reflect market expectations of future Fed moves, closed at 4.91%.
The crypto universe has remained subdued since Bitcoin's fourth halving, failing to attract significant initial interest despite the anticipation leading up to the event.
In contrast, gold and the U.S. dollar have experienced rallies.
Bitcoin's value dropped by -6% in April, a potential reason being the “halving,” which typically leads to short-term volatility.
At the New York close, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, was trading at around US$66,470.00, fluctuating within an intraday range of US$66,396.00 to US$66.642.00.
Based on the technical pattern, despite Bitcoin's recent decline from its peak at US$72,000.00, support is estimated between US$56,000.00 and US$58,000.00, while resistance is seen between US$78,000.00 and US$81,000.00.
Due to expected high volatility, market participants should exercise caution and closely monitor current price action and supply-demand dynamics.
Adapting trading strategies to market fluctuations is essential.
Meanwhile, Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain in terms of cryptocurrency market capitalization, traded within a daily range of US$3,152.00 to US$3,263.00 before closing at US$3,214.00.
Precious metal prices saw another volatile session, with the spot gold market extending its decline to $2,322 per ounce. Meanwhile, silver closed at $27.26.
In the energy markets, Brent crude's global benchmark rose to $88.42, while the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, settled at $83.22.
The U.S. Dollar Index (U.S. DXY), which gauges the dollar's performance against six major foreign currencies in the forex market, was lower at 105.68.
Meanwhile, the Eurodollar was 1.0702, and the British pound finished at 1.2352. The Japanese yen ended at 154.74, while the Australian dollar was at 0.6486.
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