- US stocks surged Wednesday as earnings reports and economic data were better than anticipated.
- Wall Street's indexes had lost ground in the past two sessions, coming off a strong July performance.
US stocks soared Wednesday in a rally sparked by economic data and a crop of earnings reports that outstripped expectations, giving investors a chance to set aside recession concerns.
All three of Wall Street's major benchmarks gained ground after two consecutive losses at the start of August trade. The major indexes jumped in July, cutting into their year-to-date declines.
Investors on Wednesday pushed up shares of $4, CVS and $4 after the coffee shop chain, the drugstore retailer, and the COVID-19 vaccine maker each posted quarterly financial results that surpassed expectations. CVS and Moderna bumped up financial guidance.
On the economic front, June factory orders rose by a more-than-expected 2%, and US services sector activity as measured by the Institute for Supply Management improved in July from June. The $4 came in at 56.7% versus 53.0% in an Econoday consensus estimate.
Here's where US indexes stood after the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday:
- S&P 500>$4: 4,155.12, up 1.56%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average>$4: 32,812.00, up 1.28% (415.83 points)
- Nasdaq Composite>$4: 12,668.16, up 2.59%
"The ISM report clearly shows an improvement with both business activity and new orders," Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note. "Inflation is cooling, but if several industries are still reporting rises, further declines may not be happening anytime soon," he said.
St. Louis Federal Reserve President $4 that "it's hard to say there's a recession," with strong job growth logged in the first half of 2022. He projected the Fed will raise interest rates by at least another 1.5 percentage points to bring down inflation, which $4.
"The debate over what the Fed will do in September won't be answered until we get closer to the Jackson Hole Symposium, possibly the August [nonfarm payrolls] and inflation reports," said Moya, "but right now it seems way too early to say that a 75 basis point increase is off the table."
Around the markets, $4 stock purchases are $4 before shareholders vote on a 3-for-1 stock split, says Vanda Research.
Wall Street's $4 is the lowest in 5 years as investors price in recession risk, Bank of America said.
$4 was the latest $4, days after nearly $200 million was swiped from crypto firm Nomad.
Oil prices fell after US government data showed an unexpected increase in weekly oil stockpiles, $4. Prices earlier had risen after $4 by 100,000 barrels a day, widely considered a modest increase.
$4 dropped 3.2% to $91.41 per barrel.$4 the international benchmark, lost 3% to fetch $97.53 a barrel. The price downturn "suggests that the market is concerned over the possibility of weakening gasoline demand," Noah Barrett, research analyst for energy & utilities at Janus Henderson Investors, wrote in a note.
$4 slipped 0.6% to $1,778.40 per ounce. The$4 rose 16 basis points to 2.769%.
$4 rose 2% to $23,498.01.