US close: Dow clears 23,000 mark as IBM surges
Gains for Big Blue on the back of its latest quarterly numbers pushed the Dow clear of the 23,000 point mark on Wednesday, with investors very much focused on the steady stream of corporate results coming out.
Dow Jones I.A.
38,239.98
04:30 15/10/20
Nasdaq 100
17,210.88
12:15 22/04/24
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.7% at 23,157.60, the S&P 500 added 0.07% to 2,561.26 and the Nasdaq 100 closed 0.13% softer at 6,114.35.
Shares of IBM rocketed 8.86% for their biggest one-day price move since January 2001.
“Looking back at previous instances of stretched valuations one of the common denominators on a historical basis has been a feeling of euphoria, a sentiment which is largely absent at this point in time,” said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK.
"That's not to say investors are complacent, some undoubtedly are but when we've had substantial corrections on previous occasions the rotation of capital has always had an alternative destination to go to in terms of government bonds.
“These are nowhere near as attractive now, interest rates, and bond yields were much higher in 2007, 1997 and 1987, while today they are anchored to the floor, which limits investor options in terms of returns.”
On Wednesday morning Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan sounded a 'dovish' note, saying that the so-called 'neutral' interest rate lay at about 2.5%, adding that there was potential for it to be lower due to declines in long-term GDP growth.
In other economic news, a key indicator of homebuilding activity in the States fell back for a third consecutive month in September, although some economists brushed off the data, saying they expected to see at least a partial rebound in coming months.
US housing starts fell by 4.7% month-on-month in September to reach an annualised pace of 1.127m, according to the Department of Commerce.
That fell well short of the 1.18m pace of starts projected by economists.
Back on the corporate side of things, some observers were critical of the quality of IBM's earnings, arguing that they had much to do with the multinational's ability to dodge taxes, the fact was that its latest set of financials soundly beat forecasts from analysts on the Street.
For its third quarter, IBM posted earnings per share of $3.30 on adjusted basis, against consensus expectations for $2.84, and on the back of $19.15bn in revenues, ahead of expectations for $18.61bn.
Also in the spotlight, chip-maker Micron Technology rose 3.12% after it announced plans to redeem $2.25bn of debt via recently raised funds and from cash on hand.
Dow Jones - Risers
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $159.53 8.86%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $242.02 2.52%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $40.25 1.16%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $130.00 1.06%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $205.23 0.66%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $52.30 0.58%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $131.27 0.57%
Boeing Co. (BA) $260.04 0.55%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.65 0.52%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $63.50 0.46%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $118.15 -1.72%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.83 -1.02%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $159.76 -0.44%
General Electric Co. (GE) $23.12 -0.30%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.41 -0.26%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.76 -0.24%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $119.18 -0.15%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $33.55 -0.15%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.23 -0.11%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $140.69 -0.08%
S&P 500 - Risers
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $159.53 8.86%
Assurant Inc. (AIZ) $101.80 6.20%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $95.96 4.20%
Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS) $94.58 3.82%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $41.65 3.12%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $200.49 3.05%
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST) $19.85 2.64%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $242.02 2.52%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $19.63 2.45%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $18.53 2.43%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Allergan plc (AGN) $187.16 -5.37%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $12.97 -4.63%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $10.30 -4.45%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $318.24 -3.36%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $25.82 -2.82%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $37.51 -2.67%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $113.16 -2.43%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $18.99 -2.31%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.48 -2.15%
M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) $160.61 -2.14%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $242.41 3.25%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $41.65 3.12%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $200.49 3.05%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $19.63 2.45%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $18.53 2.43%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $152.28 2.11%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $104.45 1.97%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $163.05 1.91%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $40.32 1.84%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $49.71 1.76%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $88.62 -5.26%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $146.29 -3.79%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $25.82 -2.82%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $37.51 -2.67%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $113.16 -2.43%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $140.24 -2.04%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $195.54 -1.98%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $57.47 -1.95%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $198.37 -1.93%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $352.07 -1.61%