US stocks fluctuate amid corporate earnings

27/04/2016 05:21 AST

US stocks fluctuated amid mixed corporate earnings results, while crude oil rallied to lift commodity producers and investors awaited tomorrow’s Federal Reserve policy update.

Equities have held in a tight range since backing down from multimonth highs last week, struggling to regain momentum as the flow of financial results accelerates. Better-than-forecast profits at Procter & Gamble Co.

and 3M were greeted with ambivalence today as shares in the two companies lost more than 1.5 per cent. DuPont added 2.6 per cent after raising its 2016 earnings outlook.

Rising crude prices helped lift commodity producers. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 per cent to 2,090.97 at 11:54 a.m. in New York, after climbing as much as 0.4 per cent.

The gauge slipped Monday amid the second-lightest volume this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.53 points to 17,969.71 after rising almost 67 points.

The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.1 per cent. “The S&P 500 is at what I consider to be a key resistance area in that 2,090 range, so it’s going to take some good news to push through that,” said Alan Gayle, a senior strategist at Atlanta-based RidgeWorth Investments, which has about $37 billion in assets.”The FOMC starts its deliberations now and so it would appear at this critical positioning in the market near resistance that traders may be just waiting on the sidelines until the FOMC is done before making any real bets.”

A two-month rally has sputtered as a mix of uninspiring corporate results have given investors little incentive to push equities higher after the S&P 500 reached a four-month peak.

The US benchmark index has rebounded 14 per cent since a 22-month low in February, helped by a rise in oil prices and optimism the Fed will remain supportive of growth.

The gauge last week briefly climbed within 1 per cent of a record set in May, before closing yesterday 2 per cent away from that level yesterday. As the earnings season picks up pace, analysts are projecting a 9.2 per cent decline in first-quarter profit for S&P 500 companies, compared with forecasts for flat growth at the start of the year.

More than a third of the companies in the main US equity index report this week, including Apple Inc., EBay Inc. and AT&T after markets close today.

Of those that have released results so far, 80 per cent beat profit projections, while 59 per cent topped sales forecasts. Corning and Whirlpool sank more than 4.7 per cent after their results missed estimates.

Ryder System and truck maker Paccar gained at least 4.8 per cent after exceeding forecasts. With policy makers and investors assess data to judge the strength of the economy, a report today showed orders for U.S. durable goods climbed less than forecast in March as demand for capital equipment remained weak.

The Gulf Today