US markets end higher on upbeat earnings news

29 Oct 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs. A positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings news from big-name companies helped stocks renew the upward trend seen in recent sessions. Shares of Ford moved sharply higher after the auto giant reported much better than expected third quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance. Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev also spiked after raising its full-year forecast following a strong third quarter. Shares of Caterpillar and Merck also showed strong moves to the upside after the heavy equipment maker and drugmaker reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations. Further, adding to the positive sentiment on markets, a report from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims decreased for the fourth straight week in the week ended October 23rd. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 281,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level 291,000. Street had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 290,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the modest decrease, jobless claims once again fell to their lowest level since hitting 256,000 in the week ended March 14, 2020. Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Commerce Department showing a dramatic slowdown in the pace of US economic growth in the third quarter. The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product increased by 2.0 percent in the third quarter after jumping by 6.7 percent in the second quarter. Street had expected the pace of GDP growth to slow to 2.7 percent. The bigger than expected slowdown in GDP growth came as consumer spending rose by 1.6 percent in the third quarter after spiking by 12.0 percent in the second quarter.

Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 239.79 points or 0.68 percent to 35,730.48, Nasdaq rose 212.28 points or 1.39 percent to 15,448.12 and S&P 500 was up by 44.74 points or 0.98 percent to 4,596.42.

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