US stocks rally again to record highs as earnings smash expectations - 'Is it different this time?'
- A raft of strong US earnings sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record closes on Tuesday.
- Coca-Cola, United Technologies, Twitter, Hasbro and Lockheed Martin all delivered earnings beats. More than 78% of S&P 500 earnings have beaten Wall Street forecasts this quarter.
- The rally ended there. Asian and European stocks and crude oil prices were down on Wednesday.
- Watch the S&P 500 and Nasdaq trade live.
The US stock rallies to all-time highs on Tuesday are giving traders signs of deja vu.
Coca-Cola, United Technologies, Twitter, Hasbro and Lockheed Martin all delivered earnings beats, sending the S&P up 0.9% to north of 2,934 and the Nasdaq up 1.4% to 8,123. A surge in oil prices also helped energy stocks, sending equities past a high seen in September and January 2018.
"The big question facing investors as the S&P 500 makes its third big high - is it different this time?," said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for Markets.com. "Is there fresh impetus to drive the market higher from here? Do we have the animal spirits?"
More than 78% of S&P 500 earnings have beaten Wall Street forecasts this quarter, according to CNBC.
"Let's be honest, expectations were fairly low coming in to earning season, the market was bracing itself for a pretty poor outpouring of numbers," said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group. "Yet time and time again we are seeing firms beat this low bar and are providing a strong forward guidance."
The good news didn't translate to Asian equities, as the MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3%. The slide, Reuters said, reflected weak earnings in South Korea and mounting doubts about further government stimulus in China given recent signs of an economic recovery.
"It does not look like the all-time highs for the US market is a catalyst for a ramp elsewhere," Wilson said. "It does rather look like US exceptionalism at work."
Here's the market roundup as of 09.15 a.m. (4.15 a.m. EST):
- Asian stocks were mixed as Japan's Nikkei slid 0.4% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.7%, while the Shanghai Composite inched up 0.1%.
- European stocks opened lower. Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.6%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.3%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 dipped 0.3%.
- US stocks are set to recede as the futures underlying the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell between 0.1% and 0.2%.
- Oil gave up some of its recent gains, as Brent crude slid 0.4% while WTI crude fell 0.6%.
- Facebook, Tesla and Microsoft are among companies reporting earnings after the market close on Wednesday.
