Wall Street closes higher with S&P 500 tipping fresh record

The S&P 500 index, a proxy for the health of retirement and college savings accounts, has climbed by 0.4% for its sixth successive gain to close as solid earnings stir investors’ expectations and appetite.

S&P 500 closed at 4,536.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.4% to 35,609.34 and Nasdaq fell less than 0.1% to end the session at 15,121.68.

Oilfield services Baker Hughes fell 5.2% after reporting weak Q3 financial results, partly because of supply chain problems and higher costs.

Solid earnings from health care companies have helped broad gains for stocks on Wall Street Wednesday and pushed the S&P 500 within range of an all time high.

This rally since last week has come on the back of good earnings. Most companies are maneuvering the current inflationary pressures as well as cost issues and that helps alleviate overvaluation and inflation-related concerns.

Wall Street cheered solid earnings from several health care companies. Abbott Laboratories for medical devices and drugs rose 3.6% beating Q3 estimates. Health insurer Anthem rose 7.2% reporting strong financial results.

Technology stocks lagged the broader market, however Brinker International, operator of Chili’s Grill & Bar, fell 9.1% after its fiscal first-quarter profit fell far short of analysts’ forecasts as it encounters higher commodity and labour costs. Netflix fell 1.9% after forecasting earnings for its current quarter that were below analysts’ estimates.

PayPal fell 4.9% following reports that it is considering buying digital pinboard and shopping tool Pinterest, which jumped 13.9%.

Investors are busy reviewing the latest report cards from companies as they try to get a clearer view of the economic track ahead amid rising inflation and a remaining threat from COVID-19.

A key concern remains supply chain disruptions and rising materials costs cutting into profits for many companies. Higher costs for companies mean higher prices borne by consumers, which could threaten spending that is supporting the recovery of the U. S. economy.