By Victor Reklaitis and Anora M. Gaudiano, MarketWatch
Energy shares rally as oil prices jump
U.S. stocks struggled to hold on to modest gains in early trade
Wednesday, with the Dow attempting to build on an earnings-driven
rally that has taken it back into positive territory for the
year.
Investors are getting a fresh round of corporate results for
this session, as well as Federal Reserve speeches and the central
bank's Beige Book report.
What are the main benchmarks doing?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 15 points, or 0.1%, at
24,802.
The S&P 500 advanced by 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,711.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 2 points to 7,279.
What's driving markets?
First-quarter earnings reports have grabbed investors' attention
this week, with Netflix Inc.(NFLX), Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS)and
UnitedHealth Group Inc.(UNH)among the companies that have posted
encouraging results.
The S&P 500 components are expected to see earnings growth
of 17.3% for the period
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hopes-are-high-for-this-earnings-seasonand-that-could-prove-dangerous-2018-04-09),
the fastest rate of expansion since 2011.
What are strategists saying?
"There is one strong force driving the equity markets higher on
Wall Street--the stellar earnings season," said Naeem Aslam, chief
market analyst at Think Markets UK, in a note.
Fears around a potential trade war and geopolitical concerns
"have faded very much," Aslam added. He was referring to the
worries in recent weeks about the trade skirmish between the U.S.
and China, as well as jitters about the conflict in Syria.
North Korea also has been a concern this year, and the isolated
nation is in the news again Wednesday, thanks to reports that
Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo took a secret trip
to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang over
Easter. Pompeo went to discuss the terms
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cia-director-mike-pompeo-secretly-met-north-korean-leader-to-talk-summit-2018-04-17)
of Kim's upcoming summit with President Donald Trump.
Which stocks are in focus?
Shares in air carrier
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shares-of-united-airlines-parent-higher-after-sales-earnings-beat-expectations-2018-04-17)United
Continental Holdings Inc.(UAL)and railroad operator
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/csx-corp-shares-jump-more-than-4-after-companys-earnings-beat-2018-04-17)CSX
Corp.(CSX)rose 3% and 5%, respectively, after the companies each
posted better-than-expected quarterly profit late Wednesday.
International Business Machines Corp.'s stock (IBM)fell 5.7% as
analysts noted its earnings beat late Tuesday was driven by a
one-time tax gain
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ibm-earnings-show-ai-is-not-paying-off-yet-2018-04-17).
In addition, IBM Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh told
analysts on the tech titan's conference call that they should not
count on a continued boost from new mainframe sales.
Shares in banking giant Morgan Stanley(MS)added 2.3% after its
quarterly profit topped estimates
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/morgan-stanley-profit-climbs-38-to-beat-estimates-2018-04-18).
Health-care heavyweight Abbott Laboratories(ABT) shares dropped
1% although the health care company reported first-quarter profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/abbott-labs-beats-profit-and-sales-expectations-shares-slip-2018-04-18)and
sales that rose above expectations.
Southwest Airlines Co.'s stock (LUV) fell 0.3%, building on
Tuesday's retreat. The discount carrier on Tuesday marked its first
passenger death in its 50-year history
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/southwest-plane-makes-emergency-landing-in-philadelphia-engine-appears-blown-out-in-photos-2018-04-17)
following a blown engine. The airline says it has started an
investigation
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/southwest-begins-probe-into-fatal-engine-blowout-2018-04-18)
into the accident.
VMware Inc.(VMW)climbed 3% following reports that storied
activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a medium-size stake
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/carl-icahn-takes-medium-sized-stake-in-vmware-report-2018-04-17)
in the software company.
Shares of Textron Inc.(TXT) soared 6.8% after the industrial
manufacturing company said it agreed to sell its tools and test
business to Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) for $810 million in cash,
and reported a first-quarter profit and sales beat estimates.
Which economic reports are on tap?
The Fed's Beige Book is scheduled to hit at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
It will give anecdotal evidence on economic conditions from each of
the central bank's 12 districts.
Check out:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar
(http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)
New York Fed President William Dudley is due to give a speech on
the economic outlook at a college in New York City at 3:15 p.m.
Eastern. After that, the Fed's vice chair for bank supervision,
Randal Quarles, is slated to make remarks at the Bretton Woods
Committee in Washington, D.C., at 4:15 p.m. Eastern.
What are other markets doing?
European stocks were mostly higher, and Asian markets closed
with gains
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-make-strong-gains-thanks-to-earnings-and-easing-tensions-in-korea-2018-04-17).
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-edges-up-helped-by-pounds-fall-after-disappointing-uk-data-2018-04-18)
was flat. Gold futures rose, and oil futures
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-on-optimism-ahead-of-us-supply-data-2018-04-18)
jumped 2% to $67.93 a barrel, after the American Petroleum
Institute issued bullish U.S. inventory data.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2018 10:10 ET (14:10 GMT)
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