U.S. stocks are higher on Wednesday as equities continue their rebound from a one-day rout to start the week.
Better-than-expected earnings reports from Dow members Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson added to the bullish sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 229 points, or 0.6%, and is hovering less than 1% away from a record. The S&P 500 gained 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.3%, even though shares of Netflix declined on a disappointing subscriber forecast.
The 30-stock index rallied nearly 550 points on Tuesday. The back-to-back rallies completely wiped out the Dow’s massive loss at the start of the week. The Dow tumbled by 725 points on Monday for its worst session in eight months.
“Tuesday was a textbook oversold bounce following Monday’s collapse,” Thomas Essaye of Sevens Report Research said in a report Wednesday. “Beyond short-term gyrations, however, for value and cyclicals to reassert leadership, we will need to see yields bottom and economic growth beat estimates (two things we think will happen).”
The bond market, specifically the 10-year Treasury yield, is driving the volatility in the equity markets. On Wednesday, the 10-year yield was bouncing slightly, up 6 basis points to 1.275% (1 basis point equals 0.01%). The yield dropped to a new 5-month low on Monday, before stabilizing on Tuesday. The drop in rates unnerved equity investors by signaling a possible slowing economy due to spreading Covid variants or a possible Federal Reserve mistake.
Stocks that would benefit most from a continued swift economic reopening are set to bounce again on Wednesday after rebounding from the Monday sell-off in the prior session. Shares of Carnival were up more tha 8%. Las Vegas Sands was up 3%.
Energy stocks were higher as oil continued to rebound after falling below $70 a barrel on Monday. The Energy Select SPDR was up over 2% Wednesday morning.
Dow member Coca-Cola gave a boost to market sentiment after reporting quarterly revenue that topped pre-pandemic 2019 levels and raising its full-year forecast. Coca-Cola shares gained more than 1%.
Fellow Dow member Johnson & Johnson’s stock is trading nearly flat even after the drugmaker reported better than expected second-quarter earnings and revenue and also raised its 2021 guidance.
Moderna joined the S&P 500, giving the stock a 20% boost from when the addition was announced a week ago. Shares of the drugmaker are trading more than 3% lower, however.
Verizon shares are up almost 1% in after reporting better-than-expected revenue and subscriber growth and raising its full-year outlook.
Shares of Chipotle rose over 9% as the Mexican fast-food chain reported quarterly revenue that surpassed pre-pandemic levels as dine-in customers returned to its restaurants.
Netflix reported disappointing third quarter subscriber guidance after the bell on Tuesday. The streaming giant said it expects 3.5 million net subscribers in the third quarter, nearly 2 million below analysts’ estimates. The company also reported earnings that missed expectations.
Netflix shares were last down 4%.
About 85% of S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have beaten estimates, according to FactSet.
On Tuesday, reopening stocks rebounded sharply from Monday’s sell-off triggered by a Covid-inspired global growth scare. American Airlines rose 3% and Norwegian Cruise Line rose more than 6%.
Some strategists see the market heading into a volatile period, in which there could be a deeper pullback. Investors are juggling inflation concerns as well as new Covid cases are rebounding in the U.S. as the delta variant spreads.
“I think what we’ve seen here are the early warning shots of a correction that we’ll see probably… in late August, September, October,” said Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak.
— with reporting from CNBC’s Patti Domm.
