The Dow closed higher Wednesday, wrapping up an eighth session of gains as investors continue to digest the latest quarterly results.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, or 109, and the Nasdaq was flat.
Goldman Sachs shrugs off earnings miss; Western Alliance lifts sentiment in regional banks
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) reported second-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street estimates, weighed down by weakness in its consumer and investment banking businesses. But the stock climbed 1% as chief executive David Solomon touted optimism about signs of life in the investment banking business amid a pick-up in deal activity.
“It definitely feels better over the course of the last six-to-eight weeks than it felt earlier in the year,” Solomon said in an earnings call following the bank’s quarterly results.
Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) rose more than 7% despite reporting mixed-quarterly results as further signs of stability in deposits calm investor jitters about potential outflows from regional banks following the mini banking crisis last summer.
Western Alliance’s deposit growth for the quarter came in at $3.5 billion, well ahead of the $2B/quarter guide, which was crucial, UBS said.
Netflix delivers mixed Q2 results, but subscribers beat estimates
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) reported second-quarter results that beat on the bottom line, but revenue missed Wall Street expectations even as the streaming giant added 5.89 million new subscribers in the quarter, well above the 2.07M expected.
Carvana surge on debt cut plan brings more pain to shorts
Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) announced it struck a deal Wednesday with its bondholders that will reduce its debt by more than $1.2B, sending shares of the used-car retailer more than 40% higher, marking a further blow to short sellers of the stock.
With about 50% of its shares shorted, Carvana is one of the most shorted stocks on Wall Street.
Sector News
Telecom stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, extending the recovery from the sell-off seen on Friday and Monday.
The NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index spiked by 3.7 percent, climbing further off its lowest closing level in over three years.
Significant strength was also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent jump by the KBW Bank Index. With the gain, the index reached a four-month closing high.
Airline, utilities and commercial real estate stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while steel and semiconductor stocks moved to the downside.
Looking Ahead
The latest earnings news may be in the spotlight on Thursday, with IBM Corp. (IBM), Netflix (NFLX) and Tesla (TSLA) among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.
American Airlines (AAL), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Travelers (TRV) are also among the companies due to report their quarterly results before the start of trading on Thursday.
Trading may also be impacted by reaction to reports on weekly jobless claims, Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity and existing home sales. – Investing.com, RTTNews
