U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady Wednesday after more big companies delivered profit reports that topped analysts’ expectations. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading, a day after breaking an eight-day winning streak, its longest of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 88 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
Quick Read
- Wall Street saw slight gains on Wednesday as Target and other retailers reported profit results that exceeded analysts’ expectations.
- The S&P 500 increased by 0.2% in early trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising by 88 points (0.2%) and the Nasdaq composite edging up by 0.1%.
- Treasury yields remained steady as investors anticipate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday, which may offer insights into future interest rate cuts.
- Target’s stock surged 15.4% after reporting strong sales and profit figures, leading the company to raise its full-year forecast.
- TJX, the parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshalls, saw a 4.5% rise in its stock after also beating profit expectations and raising its full-year profit forecast.
- Macy’s shares dropped by 12%, despite exceeding profit expectations, due to lower-than-expected revenue and a reduced sales forecast for the year.
- Concerns about U.S. consumer spending persist, particularly among lower-income households, as inflation remains elevated and borrowing costs have risen.
- Coal companies Arch Resources and Consol Energy announced a merger, with both companies’ stocks rising in response; the new entity will be named Core Natural Resources.
- International markets were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipping by 0.3% and European indexes showing modest gains.
The Associated Press has the story:
Wall Street ticks higher after Target and other retailers top profit forecasts
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP) —
U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady Wednesday after more big companies delivered profit reports that topped analysts’ expectations. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading, a day after breaking an eight-day winning streak, its longest of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 88 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
Treasury yields were also moving little as investors wait for the week’s main event, which will arrive Friday. That’s when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will give a speech at an annual economic symposium. The hope is he’ll offer clues about how deeply and how quickly the Fed will begin cutting interest rates next month after it jacked them to a two-decade high to beat inflation. In the meantime, more companies are joining a parade to deliver what looks to be the best growth in profit for S&P 500 companies since late 2021.
Target jumped 15.4% after the retailer said an important underlying measure of sales strength for the spring came in at the high end of its expectations, as traffic increased at both its stores and online. Its profit topped analysts’ estimates, and it raised its forecast for the full year.
TJX, the company behind TJ Maxx and Marshalls, rose 4.5% after it likewise reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. The retailer also raised its profit forecast for the full year and said it saw increased customer transactions at all of its divisions.
They helped offset a 12% drop for Macy’s. The company reported better profit than analysts expected, but its revenue fell short of forecasts. It also lowered its expected range for sales this year, due in part to “a more discriminating consumer.”
Worries have been growing about whether U.S. shoppers can keep up their spending and keep the slowing economyout of a recession. Inflation is slowing, but prices are still much higher than before the pandemic, and many U.S. households have burned through the savings they built up during that stay-at-home period.
Concerns have been particularly high for U.S. households at the lower end of the income spectrum. High interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve have made it more expensive to borrow money, compounding the difficulty.
That’s why the widespread expectation is for the Fed next month to lower its main interest rate for the first time since the COVID crash of 2020. The only question is how much and how quickly it will move. The yield on the 10-year Treasury has been sinking since April on such expectations. It slipped further Wednesday, down to 3.79% from 3.81% late Tuesday.
On Wall Street, coal companies Arch Resources and Consol Energy both jumped after they said they were combining in an all-stock “merger of equals.” After merging, they plan to go by a new name, Core Natural Resources. Arch Resources climbed 5.9%, and Consol Energy gained 6%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3%. It was a much more modest move than some of its huge swings in recent weeks, including its worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987. Indexes were mixed elsewhere in Asia and modestly higher in Europe.
