US stocks edge higher as earnings season continues

NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow rising for an eight straight day, extending a bullish run on better-than-expected economic figures in recent weeks.

The positive market momentum has continued into earnings season, where some of the country’s biggest banks including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America saw their share prices increase after beating expectations.

Although Goldman Sachs reported early Wednesday a 62 per cent drop in second-quarter profits on low merger activity, its shares ended 1 per cent higher after executives added an improvement could be near.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 0.3 per cent at 35,061.21, building on recent gains.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.2 per cent to 4,565.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was flat at 14,358.02.

“Companies with good numbers generally report first and the bad numbers come later,” Maris Ogg from Tower Bridge Advisors told AFP.

“So, you really don’t get a very good picture initially until you get into mid-earnings season, and that’s still ahead of us,” she added.

On Wednesday, Tesla and Netflix were also set to publish their earnings after the closing bell.

Among other companies, online car retailer Carvana saw its share price increase by over 40 per cent after announcing a deal to cut its debt burden.

But despite Wednesday’s positive news, the company’s market value remains significantly below its pandemic-era high. AFP

NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow rising for an eight straight day, extending a bullish run on better-than-expected economic figures in recent weeks.

The positive market momentum has continued into earnings season, where some of the country’s biggest banks including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America saw their share prices increase after beating expectations.

Although Goldman Sachs reported early Wednesday a 62 per cent drop in second-quarter profits on low merger activity, its shares ended 1 per cent higher after executives added an improvement could be near.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 0.3 per cent at 35,061.21, building on recent gains.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.2 per cent to 4,565.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was flat at 14,358.02.

“Companies with good numbers generally report first and the bad numbers come later,” Maris Ogg from Tower Bridge Advisors told AFP.

“So, you really don’t get a very good picture initially until you get into mid-earnings season, and that’s still ahead of us,” she added.

On Wednesday, Tesla and Netflix were also set to publish their earnings after the closing bell.

Among other companies, online car retailer Carvana saw its share price increase by over 40 per cent after announcing a deal to cut its debt burden.

But despite Wednesday’s positive news, the company’s market value remains significantly below its pandemic-era high. AFP