NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks advanced on Tuesday (July 25) as traders took in earnings reports and looked ahead to the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 26.83 points, or 0.08%, to 35,438.07, the S&P 500 gained 12.82 points, or 0.28%, to 4,567.46 and the Nasdaq Composite added 85.69 points, or 0.61%, to 14,144.56.
While shares of General Electric, Sherwin-Williams and 3M ended markedly higher after their earnings reports, others like General Motors declined despite lifting its full-year guidance.
Meanwhile, shares of shipping firm UPS slid 1.9% after it reached tentative agreement with the Teamsters union on a five-year contract that would avert a crippling strike across the United States.
While UPS has avoided a “damaging strike”, their costs will be going up, said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.
Investors were also keeping an eye on Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft, which were due to report their results after the closing bell.
Looking ahead, markets will be watching for the US central bank’s upcoming interest rate decision, at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
“The Federal Reserve meeting is reminding the market that it will be the second to last, if not the last, interest rate increase, and that has been a major concern for markets, particularly for tech stocks,” said Rishi Sadarangani, chief investment officer at hedge fund R/Evolution Gate.
The central bank is expected to lift interest rates for an 11th consecutive time, and investors will be looking for clues on whether to expect further increases beyond that.
The market is already expecting a hike of 25 basis points and a “very hawkish statement” reiterating that the fight against inflation is not won, said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital.
“However, I think there is a good possibility that they may hint that they are near the end of the tightening cycle,“ he said.
On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund slightly upgraded its outlook for global growth this year as well. – AFP, Reuters
