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Stocks rise on earnings results before State of the Union address

Last updated: 16:50 05 Feb 2019 EST, First published: 05:00 05 Feb 2019 EST

Nasdaq exchange

Optimism on Wall Street continued on Tuesday, as strong earnings results boosted markets ahead of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address this evening. 

Trump is due to give his address at 9 pm ET. 

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 172.15 points higher, up 0.7% at 25,411, led by Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP) and Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC)

The Nasdaq dropped this morning but ended the day up 0.7% at 7,402.08.

The S&P 500 Index was up 0.47% to close at 2734.96. 

The top gainers on the S&P 500 Index included the cosmetics company Estee Lauder Cos Inc (NYSE:EL), which was up 12% at $152.02; Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG:NYSE), up 9.8% at $44.88; and Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL), up 8.4% to $124.16. All three companies beat quarterly expectations.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 0.6% on Tuesday, on the back of upbeat quarterly results from WestJet Airlines Ltd (TSE: WJA) and others. WestJet Airlines advanced 3.7% after reporting a quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates. 

Elsewhere, the Russell 2000 Index of small-cap stocks was firmly in the green, closing at 1,520.23. 

1:30 PM: Dow jumps as investors await Trump's state of the union address

US stocks marched higher in afternoon trade as optimistic quarterly earnings reports continued to boost market sentiment ahead of President Donald Trump's state of the union address tonight.

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had climbed 89 points to 25,328, pushed up by JP Morgan Chase & Co, Home Depot Inc, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Chevron Corp.

The tech-laden Nasdaq pared gains from the morning, but was still up by .09% at 2,727 while the S&P 500 added 0.31% to hover at 7,369.

The top gainers on the S&P 500 included the cosmetics company Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL), which added nearly 12% to hit $152.15, and Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL), which jumped 8.9% to $124.91, after the two companies zipped past analysts’ quarterly expectations.

Google’s parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) dipped by 0.8% to $1,131.95, however, as concerns about higher spending overshadowed better-than expected revenue and profit in its latest quarter.

Also bucking the trend were small-cap stocks, with the Russell 2000 index slipping by 0.19% to 1,514.

Up in Canada, Toronto’s TSX gained 38 points to 15,640, boosted by gains from industrial and tech companies.

10:00 AM: US stocks climb higher on strong corporate earnings

US stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors were reassured by strong corporate earnings from technology and consumer discretionary companies.

The markets were also tuning into President Donald Trump's State of the Union address.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48.56 points, or 0.19%, at the open to 25,287.93 led higher by Apple, Intel and Nike.

The S&P 500 opened higher by 3.47 points, or 0.13% , to 2,728.34 led higher by Estee Lauder and Ralph Lauren which both rallied nearly 11%.

The Estee lauder cosmetics company beat estimates by 19 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.74 per share. Revenue also topped forecasts on stronger global sales of its skin care brands. 

The Nasdaq Composite gained 45 points, or 0.62%, to 7,392.73 led higher by Amazon, Apple and Lululemon Athletica.

Elsewhere, the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks was firmly in the green hovering around 1,522.23.

7:15 am: US shares set to start in positive territory as traders expect more earnings; digest Google numbers

US stocks are poised for a higher start Tuesday as European benchmarks also moved north-ward, and Asian stocks were mixed.

Traders in the US are braced for another slew of corporate earnings after, notably, Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) reported on the final three months of the year following the bell last night.

The tech behemoth posted $39.3 billion in revenue - an increase of 22% from the same period a year earlier, with growth fueled largely by its advertising business.

But shares slipped over 2% after the market focused on spiraling costs at the group

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed ahead by 175 points at 25,239; the S&P 500 added around 18 at 2,724 and the Nasdaq gained over 83 at 7,347.

In futures trade, the  Dow Jones is up 84 points; the S&P 500 is ahead by around five and the Nasdaq futures are up over 17 points.

In Asia overnight, stocks were mixed. The Nikkei 225  shed around 39 points at 20,844 but the Shanghai Composite Index added around 33 points at 2,619.

In Europe this morning, the FTSE 100 added around 100 points to 7,134; the German DAX is up 122 points and the French CAC 40 is up around 49.

James Hughes, market analyst at Axitrader, noted on US trade: "There’s another busy day ahead for earnings although the stand out is likely to be Snapchat’s parent Snap, posting numbers after the market close. Shares are off recent lows but at under $7 remain well below the $17 IPO price of almost two years ago."

In macroeconomics, investors will digest the PMI manufacturing reading which is due shortly after the market open.

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