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U.S. stocks were relatively steady after more major companies reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent in afternoon trading, a day after snapping an eight-day winning streak, its longest this year. The Dow Jones rose 82 points, or 0.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.7 per cent. The Australian share market is set to get off to a positive start to the session, with futures at 4.54am AEDT pointing to a gain of 27 points, or 0.3 per cent, at the open. The ASX added 0.2 per cent on Wednesday.
Wall Street is up on all fronts.credit: dad
Treasury yields fell in the bond market as investors awaited the main event of the week, which arrives on Friday (US time). That’s when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at an annual economic symposium. The hope is that he will provide clues on how deep and how quickly the Fed will start cutting interest rates next month after raising them to a two-decade high to beat inflation.
Meanwhile, more companies are joining the fray to deliver what looks to be the best earnings growth for S&P 500 companies since late 2021.
Target shares rose 12.4 percent after the company said a key measure of spring sales strength came in at the top end of its expectations, as traffic increased in its stores and online. Its earnings beat analysts’ estimates, and it raised its full-year outlook.
Shares of TJX, the company behind TJ Maxx and Marshalls, rose 5.8% after it reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The company also raised its full-year earnings forecast and said it saw increased customer transactions across all of its divisions.
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That helped offset an 11.6% decline at Macy’s. The company reported better-than-expected earnings but revenues fell short of expectations. The company also lowered its sales forecast for this year, in part due to a “more discerning consumer.”
Concerns have grown about whether American shoppers will be able to keep up their spending and keep the slowing economy out of recession. Inflation has slowed, but prices are still much higher than they were before the pandemic, and many American households have exhausted the savings they built up during the stay-at-home order.
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