|
When is a deadline not a deadline? Apparently - and fortunately, for the stock market - when it relates to politicians passing a stimulus deal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday walked back her comments setting a hard deadline of today to strike an agreement, but for reasons most investors could get behind. That is, Democrats and the White House are said to be nearing a middle ground in their negotiations, and Pelosi had a 3 p.m. talk set with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
SEE MORE 25 Stocks That Billionaires Are Selling
Also helping buoy spirits were a few strong results from the third-quarter earnings slate.
Insurer Travelers (TRV, 5.6%) posted Street-beating profits despite higher-than-usual catastrophe losses. And Procter & Gamble (PG, 0.4%) enjoyed higher demand for cleaning and laundry products, which lifted the company's sales and earnings ahead of estimates.
"PG has been building momentum longer than most of its peers and well before Covid-19 hit, which is one reason we view PG as a post-pandemic winner," writes CFRA analyst Arun Sundaram, who rates PG shares at Buy. "Additionally, the investments PG has made in its brands, capabilities, and organization are just beginning to pay off and should manifest into more market share gains."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.4% to 28,308, while the S&P 500 ( 0.5% to 3,443) and Nasdaq ( 0.3% to 11,516) also headed to higher gro
|
|
 U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors remained optimistic about the prospects of additional fiscal aid from Washington. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 113 points, 0.4%, to close near 28,308, according to a preliminary reading, while the S&P 500 gained 16 points, 0.5%, closing near 3,443. The Nasdaq Composite was up 38 points at the close, a gain of 0.3%, at 11,516. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday downplayed an earlier deadline she'd set to conclude negotiations over a stimulus package, as Democrats and Republicans continued to speak. Meanwhile, corporate earnings remain mixed: Shares of grocery chain Albertsons Cos. Inc. jumped nearly 6% after reporting better-than-expected earnings and offering bullish guidance. But International Business Machines Corp. said its revenue fell in the third quarter.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
|
|
U.S. stock benchmarks on Tuesday kicked off trade modestly higher, as stocks attempted to recover from the worst daily percentage decline in about a month. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have indicated that differences in negotiations toward a sweeping coronavirus aid package are "narrowing," with a self-imposed deadline of end of day Tuesday looming. Both sides said they are continuing to work on the matter, which the market views as crucial to supporting further gains. Meanwhile, Moderna Inc. said that it could seek emergency authorization for its vaccine candidate before the end of the year, joining Pfizer Inc. , which last week said that it would have its experimental drug ready before the the end of 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 112 points, or 0.4%, at 28,310, the S&P 500 index was trading 0.5% higher at 3,444, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was advancing 0.5% at 11,540, at last check. Markets finished Monday action with their worst percentage declines since late September.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
|
|
Shares of International Business Machines Corp. dropped 3.7% in premarket trading Tuesday, and was the only decliner among Dow Jones Industrial Average components ahead of the open, after the technology giant reported another quarterly revenue decline and didn't provide financial guidance. The stock's implied price decline would shave about 30 points off the Dow's price, while Dow futures rose 103 points, or 0.4%. Wedbush analyst Moshe Katri said the third-quarter results, which were reported late Monday, were "mixed," as the net result continues to be "lackluster revenue growth and inconsistent margin performance." The stock has lost 6.4% year to date through Monday, while the Dow has eased 1.2%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
|
RELATED ARTICLES | | |
|
Private Label