US benchmark equity indexes saw gains during intraday trading as investors assessed recent corporate earnings and key economic indicators ahead of the financial results from tech giants Microsoft and Meta Platforms. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3% to 42,351.2 by Wednesday afternoon, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each increased by 0.1%, reaching 5,838.9 and 18,732.7, respectively.
The communication services sector led the gains, while the technology sector experienced the largest decline. Both Microsoft and Meta Platforms are expected to release their quarterly financial performance after the market closes on Wednesday, with additional reports from major companies such as Amgen, Starbucks, DoorDash, Carvana, and eBay on the horizon. In recent company updates, Garmin saw a nearly 24% surge in its shares, making it the top gainer on the S&P 500, following a robust third-quarter performance and an optimistic full-year outlook. Alphabet's class A and C shares each rose by over 4%, becoming the star performers on the Nasdaq.
The parent company of Google reported stronger-than-anticipated third-quarter results, bolstered by robust advertisement and cloud services growth late Tuesday. Meanwhile, Super Micro Computer faced the sharpest decline on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, with a 33% drop occurring after Ernst & Young resigned as its public accounting firm.
Qorvo shares plummeted by 27%, marking the second-worst performance on the S&P 500. The company disclosed a year-over-year decrease in its fiscal second-quarter results and delivered a discouraging outlook for the third quarter. In terms of yields, the US two-year yield moved up by 2.2 basis points to a level of 4.14%, while the 10-year rate dropped by 1.6 basis points to 4.26%. Turning to economic developments, the US economy expanded at a slower-than-expected rate during the third quarter, with a reported easing in inflation, as revealed by an advance estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Desjardins stated that "Real (gross domestic product) growth remains strong, and this summer's fears of an imminent recession now seem grossly exaggerated." Additionally, employment growth within the US private sector exceeded expectations in October, although wage growth displayed a cooling trend, as reported by Automatic Data Processing (ADP).
Mortgage applications dipped last week as rates climbed across all loan categories, with the 30-year fixed rate for conforming loans hitting its peak since July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Furthermore, West Texas Intermediate crude oil experienced a 2.1% increase, reaching $68.61 a barrel intraday.
Reports indicated that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners may postpone a proposed increase in oil production in December by at least a month, in response to soft demand amid rising supply. Gold prices saw a rise of 0.6% to $2,797.50 per troy ounce, while silver prices fell by 1.2% to $34.03 per ounce..