US close: Markets finish higher as investors cheer Bank of America
By Josh White
Date: Tuesday 16 Apr 2019
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street finished its session in the green on Tuesday, as investors thumbed over more key earnings, including those from banking giant Bank of America.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.26% to 26,452.66 at the close, while the S&P 500 added 0.05% to 2,907.06 and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.34% to 7,654.73.
On the macroeconomic calendar, US manufacturing output remained flat last month after two consecutive months of declines, leading to the biggest quarterly decrease since 2017.
The Federal Reserve revealed that manufacturing production in March was held back by weak automotive and timber products output.
February's figures were revised up to reflect output at factories dropping 0.3 %.
Economists had forecast manufacturing output edging up 0.1% in March.
Factory production dropped at a 1.1% annualized rate in the first quarter - the first quarterly drop since the third quarter of 2017.
Elsewhere, US homebuilder confidence in the market for new single-family homes moved ahead in April.
The seasonally-adjusted National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index grew to 63 last month from 62 in March.
"Builders report solid demand for new single-family homes, but they are also grappling with affordability concerns stemming from a chronic shortage of construction workers and buildable lots," said NAHB chairman Greg Ugalde.
In corporate news, Bank of America shares finished the day up 0.13% following the release of its first-quarter results, a day after numbers from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup left investors disappointed.
"Market expectations over this quarterly reporting season being the weakest in three years has left investors wondering how much upside remains for stocks," said Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM.
"For proper context, the S&P 500 is still just less than 1% away from its record high, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index has already climbed by some 11% so far in 2019.
"Even as the catalyst to drive risk sentiment over the near-term revolves around the current US earnings season, equity bulls may have to turn their attention elsewhere to find reasons to send stocks higher."
Elsewhere, Johnson & Johnson shares were up 1.1% at the close after its first-quarter update, while stock in UnitedHealth was down 4.12% despite the health insurer's first-quarter earnings and revenue coming in ahead of analysts' expectations and lifting its profit outlook for the year.
US bank BlackRock picked up 3.25% after reporting its best quarter in four years.
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