INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
United States stock indexes climbed on Tuesday and the Nasdaq hit a new record high as Google-parent Alphabet's strong quarterly results
reaffirmed expectations of a robust earnings season and sparked a rally among technology shares.
The benchmark SP 500 index rose to its
highest since early February, and to within 2 percent of its late-January record, as a clutch of robust earnings helped investors shake off
concerns over a United States -China trade war and a strengthening dollar.
Shares of Alphabet, part of the so-called FAANG group, jumped 5.3
percent to a record high of $1,275.00, pushing the SP information technology sector 1.24 percent higher.
Other FAANGs also rose
Facebook climbed 2.1 percent, Amazon gained 1.6 percent, Apple rose 0.8 percent, while Netflix inched up 0.3 percent.
Tech stocks have led
the recovery from the early 2018 tumult that dragged United States stocks into a correction and have helped erase nearly all of the broader
market's losses.
Among other gainers, Verizon rose 1.1 percent after posting better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue as the
wireless carrier attracted more subscribers with unlimited data plans.
"It's earnings that's going to propel markets today," said Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
"We are seeing a host of companies that have reported and some
of them have given a good guidance, so it's a good combination."
Harley-Davidson, at the center of a brewing trade war between the United
States and the European Union, rose 3.8 percent after its profit beat estimates, although it warned new EU tariffs would squeeze
margins.
Boeing rose 1 percent, while Caterpillar gained 1.9 percent and were the biggest boosts to the Dow Jones Industrial Average
EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 127.52 points, or 0.51 percent, at 25,171.81, the SP 500 was up 18.96 points, or 0.68 percent,
at 2,825.94 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 74.84 points, or 0.95 percent, at 7,916.71.
Eight of the 11 main SP 500 sectors were higher.
But
not all reports were upbeat
Whirlpool tumbled 12.1 percent after reporting weak quarterly results and cutting full-year forecasts.
Shares of United Technologies dipped
0.9 percent, while 3M dropped 2.7 percent, despite the companies beating quarterly profit expectations.
Advancing issues outnumbered
decliners by a 2.00-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.65-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The SP index recorded 24 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 83 new highs and 14 new lows.
