Street signs at the intersection of Wall and Broad Streets are shown in lower Manhattan, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
By Damian J. Troise
Solid earnings from health care companies helped send stocks higher on Wall Street Wednesday and pushed the benchmark S&P 500 to the brink of another record high.
The market has been gaining ground as investors shift their focus to the latest round of corporate earnings. Stocks have been choppy for weeks as rising inflation and lackluster economic data raised concerns about the path ahead for the economic recovery.
The S&P 500 rose 16.56 points, or 0.4%, to 4,536.19. It's the sixth straight gain for the benchmark index and puts it less than a point from the all-time high it set on Sept. 2.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 152.03 points, or 0.4%, to 35,609.34. The Nasdaq fell 7.41 points, or less than 0.1%, to 15,121.68.
“The reason we’re seeing this rally over the last week is that company earnings are looking really good,” said Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer at Defiance ETFs. “Most companies are managing inflationary pressures and pricing issues and that’s helping to alleviate concerns about overvaluation and inflation.”
Wall Street cheered solid earnings from a variety of health care companies. Abbott Laboratories, which makes infant formula, medical devices and drugs, rose 3.3% after handily beating analysts’ third-quarter profit forecasts. Health insurer Anthem rose 7.7% after also reporting strong financial results. Technology stocks lagged the broader market.
Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.65% from 1.63% late Tuesday.
Netflix fell 2.2% after forecasting earnings for its current quarter that were below analysts’ estimates.
PayPal fell 4.9% following reports that it is considering buying digital pinboard and shopping tool Pinterest, which jumped 12.8%.
The price of Bitcoin rose above $66,000 for the first time. The gains came a day after the first exchange-traded fund linked to Bitcoin futures attracted huge interest from investors looking to get into the surging field of cryptocurrencies.
Investors are busy reviewing the latest report cards from companies as they try to get a clearer understanding of how rising inflation and the lingering threat from COVID-19 will affect the economy.
A key concern remains supply chain disruptions and rising materials costs cutting into profits for many companies. Higher costs for companies could mean higher prices for consumers, which could threaten spending that is supporting the recovery.
Oilfield services company Baker Hughes fell 5.7% after reporting weak third-quarter financial results, partly because of supply chain problems and higher costs. Brinker International, which operates Chili’s Grill & Bar, fell 9.7% after its fiscal first-quarter profit fell far short of analysts’ forecasts as it faces higher commodity and labor costs.
Investors seem to be taking the impact from rising inflation on companies in stride, said Greg Bassuk, CEO at AXS Investments.
“Without big surprises on the downside, or something really outsized, the bulls are overtaking the bears,” he said.
Rising inflation has also put a sharper focus on the Federal Reserve and its plans to start trimming bond purchases that have helped keep interest rates low. The central bank maintained through most of the year that inflation would likely be temporary and tied to the economic recovery, but it has grown more concerned about rising inflation persisting.
Railroad operator CSX gained ground in after-hours trading after reporting solid financial results, while Tesla slipped after reporting its results.
There are still several large companies on deck to release their earnings this week. American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Union Pacific will report on Thursday.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
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President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
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