Stocks rise for a second day as Apple hits record high
Stocks rose Wednesday as the market continued to rebound from a heavy sell-off earlier this week and as Apple led a slew of companies that reported better-than-expected earnings.
“Apple pleasantly surprised investors on multiple fronts, but most importantly materially exceeded investor expectations on iPhone revenues, which returned to growth in the quarter much ahead of investor expectations,” J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee said in a note.
McDonald’s, another Dow component, posted better-than-expected quarterly results but the stock dropped 0.4%. Dow and ADP reported profits that beat analyst estimates as well along with General Electric.
So far, nearly 28% of S&P 500 companies have reported results for the previous quarter. Of those companies, about 70% have beaten analyst expectations, FactSet data shows.
Boeing shares also added to Wednesday’s gains, rising more than 2% even after the aircraft manufacturer reported its first annual loss since 1997, Wednesday’s gains come after the Dow snapped a five-day losing streak with a gain of more than 180 points. That move up helped the major indexes recover some of the losses from the largest sell-off of the year, which happened Monday amid global concern over the spread of the Chinese coronavirus.
Chinese officials said late Tuesday that the death toll has risen to 132 with total cases in China now standing at 5,974. The White House told U.S. airlines on Tuesday that the administration is considering a suspension of flights from China to the U.S.
Investors will be closely watching the Federal Reserve on Wednesday afternoon, as the central bank convenes for its first monetary policy meeting of the decade.
The main interest rate is widely expected to hold steady in the 1.50% to 1.75% range, but the market will likely be attuned late in the session to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, particularly any comments about the Fed’s repo program or the potential economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.