(Photo by John Smith/VIEWpress /Corbis via Getty Images)
U.S. equities inched higher on Tuesday, following gains in Europe and Asia, as analysts pointed to a return among investors to technology stocks.
Shortly after the open, the
gained 21 points, or 0.1%, while the
was little changed, and the
advanced 0.2%.
In Asia, Tokyo’s
rose 2.1% and Hong Kong’s
climbed 1.4%. The
ticked up 0.3%. The
in London was 0.2% higher, while the
in Paris and Frankfurt’s
were little changed.
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Broad gains across global stock markets come on the back of a selloff last week, as investor sentiment remains positive on the reopening of major economies that have battled back the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“After last week’s inflation-inspired global markets selloff, equities are racing to claw back lost territory with gains seen across Europe and Asia on Tuesday,” said Russ Mould, an analyst at AJ Bell. “A lot of faith is being put in a strong vaccine rollout and therefore there is confidence that companies will enjoy strong earnings growth this year.”
“Investor sentiment remains cautiously optimistic, with concerns about sky-high valuations for many U.S. technology stocks and runaway inflation subsiding a little,” noted Victor Argonov, an analyst at Exante.
(ticker: M) stock fell 2.9% after initially rising as the company reported earnings of 39 cents a share, beating forecasts for a loss of 41 cents a share. The retailer posted sales of $4.7 billion, above expectations for $4.4 billion.
(HD) slipped 0.4% after reporting a profit of $3.86 a share for its latest quarter, beating forecasts for $3.08 a share, on sales of $37.5 billion, above expectations for $34.9 billion.
(WMT) stock rose 3.9% after reporting earnings of $1.69 a share for its fiscal first quarter, beating forecasts for $1.21 a share, on sales of $138 billion, above expectations for $131 billion.
(MGM) stock gained 2.8% after getting upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at J.P. Morgan.
(SNOW) stock rose 1.8% after getting upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Rosenblatt.
stock rose more than 2% after the French media giant said it may sell an additional 10% of Universal Music—the group behind acts including Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Kendrick Lamar— to “an American investor.” Vivendi plans to list Universal Music in Amsterdam by the end of September and values the group at €33 billion ($40 billion).
Shares in
sank 6.5%, after the telecommunications giant missed analyst expectations for full-year earnings, despite returning to profit to the tune of €536 million in the 12 months to the end of March, following a €455 million loss in the year prior.
stock rose 1.5%, after the tobacco group reported a solid first half of its fiscal year and said it was on track to deliver its full-year targets. Revenue rose 6% to £15.5 billion in the six months to the end of March, driven by strong growth in next-generation products such as vaping—which have previously faced headwinds.
Shares in
the world’s fourth-largest car maker formed out of the merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group earlier this year, rose 1%. The group and
—the assembler of
iPhone—were set to announce a new partnership Tuesday.
Write to Jacob Sonenshine at jacob.sonenshine@barrons.com
