Wall Street Stocks Trade Higher as Earnings Season Gathers Momentum

Barry Adams
23 Apr, 2024
New York City

Benchmark indexes on Wall Street advanced as investors reviewed a fresh batch of earnings. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite advanced more than 0.3% in early trading, crude oil prices edged lower, and gold extended its recent losses.

General Motors and Novartis raised their full-year guidance; Pepsi Co. and UPS reported better-than-expected quarterly results; but JetBlue's quarterly revenue fell. 

Tesla is scheduled to report its quarterly results after the close today; Meta Platforms is scheduled to release its earnings on Wednesday; and Microsoft and Alphabet are expected to report their results on Thursday. 

Later in the week, investors are also awaiting the release of the first-quarter GDP growth and personal consumption expenditure index data. 

 

U.S. indexes and yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.5% to 5,040.08, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3% to 15,502,27. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged higher to 5.0%, 10-year Treasury notes inched up to 4.64%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged lower to 4.74%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.93 to $81.91 a barrel, and natural gas prices decreased 1 cent to $1.80 a thermal unit.

Gold decreased by $31.98 to $2,301.79 an ounce, and silver fell 38 cents to $26.91. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 106.02.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

UPS increased 1.6% to $147.30 after the parcel delivery company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. 

Revenue in the first quarter declined 5.3% to $21.7 billion from $22.9 billion, net income plunged 41.3% to $1.1 billion from $1.9 billion, and diluted earnings per share dropped to $1.30 from $2.19 a year ago. 

The company reiterated its 2024 outlook and said consolidated revenue would range from approximately $92.0 billion to $94.5 billion and consolidated operating margin would fall between 10.0% and 10.6%. 

General Motors increased 4.9% to $45.35 after the vehicle maker reported sharply higher revenue and earnings in the first quarter. 

Revenue increased 7.6% to $43.3 billion from $39.0 billion, net income attributable to shareholders rose 24.4% to $2.98 billion to $2.35 billion, and diluted earnings per share advanced to $2.56 from $1.69 a year ago. 

The vehicle maker updated its full-year 2024 earnings outlook to a new range between $10.1 billion and $11.5 billion from the previous estimated range between $9.8 billion and $11.2 billion. 

JetBlue dropped 10.5% to $6.75 after the regional airline reported a wider loss in the first quarter. 

Revenue in the quarter declined 5.1% to $2.2 billion from $2.3 billion, net loss expanded to $716 million from $192 million, and diluted loss per share increased to $2.11 from 58 cents a year ago, respectively. 

The company estimated second-quarter revenue to fall between 6.5% and 10.5% and capital expenditures of $550 million.