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U.S. stocks crept higher on Wednesday, with technology stocks lagging, after
and other U.S. banks reported strong profits.
The
rose 193 points, or 0.6%, in midday trading, while the
was up 0.1%, and the
declined 0.2%.
Large banks beat analysts’ earnings forecasts across the board. JPMorgan (ticker: JPM) reported a profit of $4.50 a share, easily topping estimates for $3.10 a share, while Goldman Sachs (GS) reported earnings of $18.60 a share, blowing by forecasts for $10.22 a share. Even Wells Fargo (WFC) topped earnings forecasts, reporting a profit of $1.05 a share, ahead of estimates for 70 cents.
The market reaction, however, was tepid: JPMorgan stock was down 1%, while Wells Fargo ticked gained 5.3%. Goldman Sachs gained 3.6%. Expectations were high for banks coming into earnings season, and the
(BKX) is up more than 26% for the year, compared to a more than 10% gain for the S&P 500.
And the price of Bitcoin hit a fresh record above $64,000 on Wednesday as investors awaited Coinbase’s debut on the Nasdaq. The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange will list under the ticker COIN. The Nasdaq gave a reference price for Coinbase late on Tuesday of $250, which means the company’s market capitalization could be as much as $65.3 billion.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday. That was in response to a request by regulators to temporarily halt
(JNJ) Covid-19 vaccine shots, after six people who received the J&J shot were diagnosed with severe blood clots.
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On the economic front, several Federal Reserve officials are scheduled to speak. Chair
Jerome Powell
spoke at noon Eastern but provided little in the way of news for bond-market investors. The 10-year Treasury yield held its slight early gains from before the Q&A with the Economic Club of New York, up one basis point, or hundredths of a percentage point, at 1.64%.
Prices for U.S. crude and global benchmark Brent climbed sharply, after the International Energy Agency lifted its annual forecast for global oil demand in 2021 in its monthly report, saying the energy industry is well on its way to recovery from the pandemic.
The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.2%, and the French
climbed about 0.4% as
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton
shares surged in Paris on strong results. In the first quarter since the integration of U.S. jeweler Tiffany, LVMH’s watches and jewelry unit saw organic revenue growth of 35% year over year, while core fashion saw growth of 52%.
The
climbed 1.4%, but the
fell 0.4%. Shares of
surged nearly 6% after the Japanese technology and manufacturing conglomerate’s president
Nobuaki Kurumatani
resigned. The company said a week ago it was considering a merger with a global fund where he previously worked.
(XOM) gained 3.9% after getting upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond James.
(VNO) fell 1.4% after getting cut to Underperform from Neutral at BofA.
(BBBY) tumbled nearly 10% after the company reported a profit of 40 cents a share, topping estimates for 31 cents a share, but missed on sales.
(DISCA) stock dropped 2.7% as Credit Suisse continued to sell shares related to the Archegos blowup.
(GLPG) climbed 4.5% after getting upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
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