Wall Street ended the trading session on a positive note on Tuesday, with major indexes posting gains. Investor sentiment was boosted by optimism ahead of key inflation reports, and financial shares, including JPMorgan, saw increases in anticipation of earnings later in the week.
Market participants are eagerly awaiting further clues on whether inflationary pressures are easing and if the Federal Reserve is approaching the end of its interest rate tightening cycle. The US consumer price data is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, followed by the producer prices report on Thursday. Some Federal Reserve officials have recently suggested that the central bank may need to raise rates further to control inflation, but also hinted at a nearing end to the tightening cycle.
JPMorgan Chase & Co shares rose 1.6% after it was upgraded to a buy rating by Jefferies ahead of the bank’s quarterly results, which are expected on Friday. The reports from JPMorgan and other major banks this week are anticipated to unofficially kick off the second-quarter reporting season. The S&P banking index also saw a 1.5% increase.
Energy shares also experienced gains as oil prices surged.
Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York, remarked that it is reassuring to see the market expanding ahead of earnings reports. He also highlighted the significance of the upcoming economic data and expressed concerns about third-quarter expectations and earnings calls.
So far this year, the S&P 500 has gained 15.6%, with technology stocks leading the way with a 40% increase.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a rise of 317.02 points, or 0.93%, reaching 34,261.42. The S&P 500 climbed 29.73 points, or 0.67%, closing at 4,439.26. The Nasdaq Composite added 75.22 points, or 0.55%, ending the day at 13,760.70.
Wall Street banks are expected to report higher profits for the second quarter as rising interest payments compensate for a slowdown in dealmaking.
Among the top gainers in the S&P 500, Activision Blizzard’s shares surged by 10% after a US judge ruled that Microsoft could proceed with its planned acquisition of the videogame maker behind Call of Duty. Salesforce shares also rose by 3.9% following the announcement that the company would be increasing the prices of some of its cloud and marketing tools, which marks the first increase in seven years.
Amazon.com shares saw a slight rise of 1.3% as its Prime Day discount shopping event, spanning 48 hours, took place this week.
Trading volume on US exchanges amounted to 9.97 billion shares, lower than the 11.1 billion average for the past 20 trading days.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 3.65-to-1, while on the Nasdaq, the ratio favored advancers at 1.82-to-1.
The S&P 500 recorded 51 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite marked 91 new highs and 40 new lows.
