Nasdaq, S&P end higher as Tesla jumps, yields pull back
October 25, 2024
Linea Mercati Interview 10/25/24
October 28, 2024The New York Stock Exchange opened on a mixed note on Thursday, satisfied with a lull on the bond front and by corporate results, particularly Tesla, even though Boeing and IBM were penalizing the Dow Jones.
Around 13:55 GMT, the Dow Jones was down 0.22%, while the Nasdaq index was up 0.52% and the broader S&P 500 index was up 0.25%.
“The good corporate results and the easing of bond yields set the scene for a positive session,” commented Peter Cardillo, of Spartan Capital.
After reaching 4.25% on Wednesday, its highest level in nearly three months, the yield on 10-year US government bonds fell to 4.23%.
On the results side, Tesla took the cake, although it missed the mark in sales in the third quarter.
It was the profit, which was well above Wall Street’s forecasts, that caught the attention, as well as margins, which jumped by almost 2 percentage points.
“Before the publication, there was concern that discounts granted to sell volumes would erode margins,” explained, in a note, Matt Britzman, of Hargreaves Lansdown. “That does not appear to be the case.”
Levitating (+16.48%), Tesla took with it a good part of the Nasdaq, in particular semiconductors, notably AMD (+0.64%), Intel (+0.98%) and Lam Research (+3.05%), which supplies the silicon wafers used to manufacture chips.
The New York stock market was encouraged by the slowdown in jobless claims, which returned to average after a surge in the previous two weeks.
Another pleasant surprise, the indices of the S&P Global company measuring activity in the services and manufacturing sectors in the United States, both higher than expected in October
The Dow Jones was against the current of the other leading indices, weighed down by Boeing (-1.36%). The aircraft manufacturer took the hit after a new rejection by members of the IAM union of a draft social agreement.
The strike, which began on September 13, is therefore continuing in the manufacturer’s two main factories.
Boeing also published a heavy loss of 6.2 billion dollars on Wednesday after the market closed.
Another ball and chain on the Dow Jones, IBM (-6.04%), whose turnover came out below analysts’ projections.
The participants are concerned about the decline in the infrastructure department (-7%), which includes servers and remote computing (cloud), although the appetite of companies for artificial intelligence does not seem to be waning.
Wall Street celebrated UPS (+4.87%), which published results better than analysts expected and raised its margin target for the full year, after lowering it in July. The courier and parcel group is seeing demand pick up after several gloomy quarters.
The industrial conglomerate Honeywell (-4.21%), on the other hand, reported sales that were considered disappointing and lowered its annual revenue target.
The Charlotte (North Carolina) group noted a decline in its activity which offers technological solutions to companies to automate their production.
Another disappointment was that of Northrop Grumman, the aeronautics and defense group posting lower than expected sales, mainly due to a decline in its sales in aerospace.
The company, which markets aerial and underwater drones in particular, nevertheless raised its net profit forecast for the entire financial year. The stock rose 2.44%.
The petrochemical specialist Dow declined (-0.95%), after a drop in its net profit in the third quarter.
The New York stock market had a hard time digesting American Airlines’ net loss (-0.12%) in the third quarter, entirely due to an exceptional charge linked to the ratification of a new social agreement with its cabin crew.
