NEW YORK (AFP) – The S&P 500 finished at a record on Thursday (Oct 21) following another round of mostly solid earnings from Tesla and others, even as weak IBM results weighed on the Dow.
The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.3 per cent to 4,549.78, its first record close since early September as Tesla, American Airlines and Union Pacific all climbed following earnings.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.6 per cent to 15,215.70, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 35,603.08.
Equities have been rallying over the last week following a run of good earnings reports that have offset worries about higher US inflation causing a shift to more restrictive monetary policy.
New unemployment claims fell 6,000 to 290,000, seasonally adjusted, in the week ended Oct 16, the lowest level since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000.
That was just before the spread of Covid-19 sent them surging into the millions amid mass layoffs, the Labour Department reported.
The yield of the 10-year US Treasury note pushed higher, a trend that highlights the lingering risk of inflation. Countering that is investor “fear of missing out” on further stock market gains, analysts say.
The end of the year is traditionally a strong season for stocks.
Among individual names Tesla jumped 3.3 per cent after reporting that third-quarter profits more than quadrupled on sharply higher sales despite supply chain problems that continue to challenge automakers.
WeWork surged 13.5 per cent in a buoyant debut on the Nasdaq two years after a previous attempt by the office-sharing company to go public disintegrated in spectacular fashion.
But IBM dove 9.6 per cent after reporting lower-than-expected sales as the tech giant cited slowing spending by some clients.