Nasdaq leads gains on Wall Street, helped by Apple
Shares of Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab jumped and provided the biggest boost to all three of the major indexes after a White House official said the company would announce a $100-billion domestic manufacturing pledge.
In addition, shares of McDonald's (MCD.N), opens new tab were up after the fast-food restaurant's affordable menu drove global sales past expectations, while Arista Networks (ANET.N), opens new tab shares jumped after the cloud networking company projected current-quarter revenue above estimates.
"Earnings continue to come in better than expected," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
He said while there is uncertainty surrounding tariffs, investors appear to be upbeat about the near term.
Results are now in from about 400 of the S&P 500 companies for the second-quarter earnings season.
About 80% of reports are beating analyst earnings expectations - above the 76% average of the last four quarters - and earnings growth for the quarter is estimated at 12.1%, up from 5.8% at the start of July, according to LSEG data.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab gained 46.06 points, or 0.72%, to end at 6,344.67 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab gained 251.97 points, or 1.21%, to 21,168.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 79.42 points, or 0.18%, to 44,191.16.
Also positive for stocks were increasing bets for a September interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Last week's jobs report showed slowing employment growth and downward revisions for previous months.
Odds for next month's rate cut stand at 93.2%, compared with just 46.7% last week, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Traders also bet on at least two cuts by the end of 2025.
Among the day's decliners, shares of chip company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab and server maker Super Micro Computer (SMCI.O), opens new tab fell sharply after the companies posted disappointing results in their data center segments.
Walt Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab delivered a strong quarter and lifted its full-year outlook, but its shares slipped.
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