- US stocks jumped on Wednesday after upbeat earnings from Nike showed resilient consumer spending.
- Nike stock soared 13% after it said footwear and apparel sales rose 25% and 4% in the quarter, respectively.
- The stock market is approaching its favorable year-end Santa Claus trading window that starts this Friday.
US stocks jumped on Wednesday after upbeat earnings from Nike showed that the consumer is not falling apart as some fear.
Nike rallied 13% in early Wednesday trades after the company said footwear and apparel sales rose 25% and 4% in the quarter, respectively. Sales in North America were up 30%, and perhaps more encouragingly, the company raised its revenue-growth outlook.
FedEx also reported better-than-expected earnings, helping boost the stock by more than 6% on Wednesday. That's important because FedEx was one of the first companies to warn about a likely global recession. Still, the company offered weak 2023 guidance and much of its earnings beat was driven by cost-saving measures.
Meanwhile, the stock market is also approaching its favorable year-end "Santa Claus rally" trading window, which starts this Friday and ends after the first two trading days of 2023. According to Carson Group's Ryan Detrick, the upcoming period is one of the strongest for the stock market on a seasonal basis, with average gains of 1.33% and a positive return 79% of the time.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 3,846.01, up 0.64%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,154.78, up 0.93% (305.04 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 10,591.02, up 0.42%
Here's what else is happening this morning:
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk pushed back against investor concerns that his management of Twitter is hurting the stock price of the electric vehicle company.
- Bill Gross said that he's worried that there could be a recession as well as market crises in 2023 if interest rates keep rising.
- Economist Mohamed El-Erian said the Fed has blown it on inflation, and that leaves central bankers with no choice but to inflict damage on the economy.
In commodities, bonds and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.32% to $78.00 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped 2.23% to $81.77.
- Gold rose 0.07% to $1,826.70 per ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped five basis points to 3.64%.
- Bitcoin rose 0.37% to $16,858, while ether jumped 0.68% to $1,215.