Most US stocks rise, indexes end mixed as earnings kick off

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.62 points, or 0.2%, to 33,730.89 after rising above its record set last week earlier in the day.

The market was held back by drops for several heavyweight tech stocks, including Apple and Amazon, but the majority of stocks within the S&P 500 rose.

At that price, investors say the company is worth more than $85 billion, more valuable than Nasdaq or Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange.

The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for oil demand this year, up by 230,000 barrels per day to 96.7 million.

Much of the market’s focus in coming weeks will be on earnings season, as companies line up to report how much profit they made during the first three months of 2021.

Big banks are traditionally among the first companies to report, and Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo all unveiled earnings for the first quarter that blew past analysts’ forecasts.

The S&P 500 has soared roughly 85% since hitting a bottom in March 2020, even as the pandemic crunched profits for companies through last year.

The expectations for a stronger economy, though, are also leading to worries about higher inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said again on Wednesday that the central bank will hold off on raising interest rates until the job market has fully healed, inflation has reached 2% and indications show inflation is on track to stay moderately above 2% for some time.

…Read the full story