{"id":49969,"date":"2017-11-01T05:17:35","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T05:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=49969"},"modified":"2017-11-01T05:17:35","modified_gmt":"2017-11-01T05:17:35","slug":"wall-st-ends-strong-october-higher-as-tech-staples-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/business\/wall-st-ends-strong-october-higher-as-tech-staples-lead.html","title":{"rendered":"Wall St. ends strong October higher as tech staples lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wall St. ends strong October higher as tech staples lead<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Wall St. ends strong October higher as tech staples lead: A jump in shares of consumer companies Mondelez and Kellogg after their quarterly reports on Tuesday, along with further gains for tech stocks, helped Wall Street end October on a positive note.<\/span><\/p>\n

The three major indexes tallied their best monthly gains since February.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mondelez (MDLZ.O) jumped 5.4 percent after the Oreo cookie maker reported better-than-expected profit and revenue, while Kellogg (K.N) surged 6.2 percent following its first sales increase in more than two years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those stocks boosted the S&P consumer staples sector .SPLRCS, which rose 0.8 percent to lead all major groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

Apple (AAPL.O) rose 1.4 percent to a record high after positive reviews of its much-anticipated iPhone X. The stock provided the biggest boost to all the three major indexes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The tech sector .SPLRCT climbed 0.4 percent, building on gains following a batch of strong quarterly reports last week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou look at the earnings out of these big players and they continue to impress,\u201d said Steve Chiavarone, portfolio manager with Federated Investors in New York. \u201cIt strikes me that that leads you to a much more bullish outlook for the fourth quarter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 28.5 points, or 0.12 percent, to 23,377.24, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 2.43 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,575.26 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 28.71 points, or 0.43 percent, to 6,727.67.<\/span><\/p>\n

Investors are also awaiting an announcement on the next Federal Reserve chair, which could come this week. President Donald Trump is likely to pick Fed Governor Jerome Powell, who is seen as more dovish on interest rates and thus relatively stock market friendly, sources have told Reuters.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fed started its two-day meeting in Washington on Tuesday, although the central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged in its statement on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe macro data is getting better, the market is prepared for Jerome Powell, the market is also prepared for Friday\u2019s payrolls. I also think the market is ready for what the (Fed) says tomorrow,\u201d said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O\u2019Neil Securities in New York.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there is anything out there that could derail the market from a point of view it doesn\u2019t already expect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Market-watchers are also tracking developments of the tax-cut plan being developed by Trump and fellow Republicans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Third-quarter earnings in general have come in modestly above expectations. With more than half the S&P 500 components reported, earnings are estimated to have climbed 7 percent in the quarter, up from an expectation of 5.9 percent growth at the start of October, according to Thomson Reuters I\/B\/E\/S.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to see better-than-expected economic numbers and corporate earnings,\u201d said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois. \u201cI think fundamentally investors are really focused on those numbers more than the political noise, if you will, in the background.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But not all reports have earned a positive stock reaction. Pfizer (PFE.N) shares slipped 0.3 percent after the drugmaker\u2019s results.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under Armour (UAA.N) slumped 23.7 percent after the sportswear company slashed 2017 forecasts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Qualcomm (QCOM.O) shares plunged 6.7 percent and were the biggest drag on the S&P and the Nasdaq on news that Apple has designed iPhones and iPads that would drop its chips, according to two people familiar with the matter. Shares of chipmaker Intel (INTC.O) rose 2.5 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rockwell Automation (ROK.N) shares jumped 7.4 percent. The automation equipment maker said it had rejected an unsolicited acquisition bid from rival Emerson Electric (EMR.N) for more than $27 billion. Emerson shares fell 3.6 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.68-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.78-to-1 ratio favored advancers.<\/span><\/p>\n

About 6.8 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, above the 6.1 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-stocks\/wall-st-ends-strong-october-higher-as-tech-staples-lead-idUSKBN1D01FN<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t