Stocks climb toward record as earnings roll in
Stocks traded near their all-time highs as solid corporate earnings overshadowed disappointing manufacturing data. Treasuries fell.
The S&P 500 rebounded from session lows, led by commodity and retail shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average earlier touched the 36,000 level for the first time. A gauge of small caps climbed about 2%.
More than 80% of S&P 500 companies reporting third-quarter results have beaten Wall Street estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That has laid the groundwork for a nearly 6% gain in the benchmark since the season began -- the best performance over a comparable period in seven years.
Meanwhile, data showed persistent supply-chain challenges continued to weigh on U.S. manufacturers in October. The average time it takes for materials and supplies to reach U.S. factory floors increased to a record last month. Federal Reserve officials meet this week as consumers and companies fret the U.S. economy is facing the most-widespread supply crunch since the oil crisis of 1973.
"There are always risks to the outlook," said Evan Brown, head of asset allocation at UBS Asset Management. "But stocks have a habit of climbing the wall of worry as long as underlying economic fundamentals are sound."
For Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson, the bullish trend for stocks may continue into the Thanksgiving holiday later this month, but "not much longer" as the Fed is expected to start tapering and earnings growth will slow further into next year.
Stocks
- The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 12:53 p.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.1%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7%
- The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1592
- The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3665
- The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 114.18 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 1.59%
- Germany's 10-year yield was little changed at -0.10%
- Britain's 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 1.06%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.7% to $84.17 a barrel
- Gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,792.40 an ounce
