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Investing.com — U.S. stock markets opened smartly higher on Wednesday as a torrent of largely reassuring earnings persuaded some investors that the worst of the pandemic is over.
By 9:40 AM ET (1340 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 24 points, or 0.1% at 26,403 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite was outperforming again, with a gain of 0.7%, helped by strong quarterly reports from the likes of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and fast-growing online marketplace Shopify (NYSE:SHOP).
Sentiment was further helped by another strong reading from the housing market, a part of the economy that has thrived in recent months against a backdrop of lower refinancing rates and the increased attractiveness of real estate as an investment against a backdrop of high volatility in securities markets. Pending home sales rose 16.6% on the month in June, down from a 44% gain in May but above expectations for a 15% rise.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) stock and General Motors (NYSE:GM) stock both fell slightly, despite posting slightly less-dismal-than-expected results for the quarter, while Boeing (NYSE:BA) stock fell 0.5% after the aerospace giant missed expectations and announced another cut to production runs.
The moves are nonetheless hostage to macro developments in the course of the day. The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Markets Committee meeting and Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference at 2:30 PM are likely to stay the main focus of the day.
