The US markets ended higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq gaining for a sixth straight day in a row, longest winning streak since March, as the churn of positive earnings overshadowed investor concerns over recently proposed tariffs in the U.S.-China trade dispute. Second-quarter results so far have been stellar, with S&P 500 companies reporting earnings growth of 24% and sales gains of 9.8%. Strong earnings have helped to bolster the belief that steady U.S. economic growth will continue to support corporate bottom lines and keep stocks buoyant. The earnings season has been good and that's helped investors realize there are strong fundamentals to justify the high prices.
However, trading activity remained somewhat subdued with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines. The economic calendar remained relatively light throughout the week, although reports on producer and consumer price inflation are likely to attract attention in the coming days. On the economic front, the latest report from the Labor Department showed there were 6.66 million job openings at the end of June, up fractionally from May’s levels and the third highest in history.
Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 126.73 points or 0.50 percent to 25628.91, the S&P 500 gained 8.05 points or 0.28 percent to 2858.45 and Nasdaq was up by 23.99 points or 0.31 percent to 7883.66.
