With One Eye On Earnings, Market Averages Edge Higher On Wall Street

Barry Adams
25 Jul, 2023
New York City

With earnings releases picking up the pace, investors reacted to corporate news and looked for signs of looming recession and slowing inflation. 

Market averages traded higher as most companies met or exceeded lowered earnings expectations. 

General Motors, General Electric, Verizon and 3M reported rising sales and earnings and stable operating margins, supporting the case of a healthy economic environment for large companies. 

Investors are looking ahead to policy decisions from the Federal Reserve Bank, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan. 

The Fed and the ECB are widely expected to raise rates by at least 25 basis points and the Bank of Japan is expected to keep its ultra-loose policy intact despite steady rise in inflation in recent months. 

Crude oil traded at a new 3-month high and natural gas edged higher after China pledged more stimulus measures to support faltering economic momentum and depressed property market. 

Copper traded up 2% to $3.93 per pound on the hopes of China measures spurring additional demand. 

 

U.S. Indexes & Yields 

The S&P 500 index traded higher 0.1% to 4,560.50 and the Nasdaq Composite futures edged up 0.5% to 14,130.53. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.89%, 10-year Treasury notes inched lower to 3.90% and 30-year Treasury bonds edged down to 3.94%. 

Crude oil decreased $0.25 to $78.49 a barrel and natural gas prices decreased 1 cent to $2.69 a thermal unit. 

 

Stock Movers 

General Motors declined 3.2% to $38.09 despite the automaker lifting its full-year earnings outlook. 

The company revised full-year earnings outlook to between $12 billion and $14 billion, from the previous range between $11 billion and $13 billion. 

The automaker also reported sharply higher second quarter earnings from a year ago. 

3M Company rose 4.6% to $109.26 after the diversified company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and the company reiterated its annual sales outlook and revised higher its annual earnings estimate. 

Verizon Communication Inc decreased 0.3% to $33.85 after the company reported mixed quarterly results.

Revenue in the quarter increased to $32.6 billion and earnings per share excluding one-time items was $1.21.

General Electric Company increased 4.5% to $115.57 after the engineering company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. 

The company also lifted its full-year earnings outlook on the strong demand for its engines and products in the aerospace division and record orders in its renewable energy business. 

Xerox Holdings Corp soared 9.2% to $16.93 after the workspace technology provider reported second quarter earnings ahead of market expectations. 

Alaska Air Group, Inc dropped 10.6% to $47.68 despite the regional airline reporting better-than-expected revenue and earnings. 

The airline reported second quarter revenue of $2.84 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $3 and guided full-year earnings per share between $5.50 and $7.50 a share.