Dow Jones climbs 533 points as big bank earnings beat
Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup all reported strong results
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U.S. stock indexes surged Thursday as the big banks posted strong quarterly results and jobless claims fell to lowest level of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 533 points, or 1.55%, while the S&P 500 index advanced 1.71% to post its best day since March and the Nasdaq Composite index tacked on 1.73% for its best session since May.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44296.51 | +426.16 | +0.97% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5969.34 | +20.63 | +0.35% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19003.651134 | +31.23 | +0.16% |
The strong gains came as jobless claims fell to the lowest level since the outbreak of COVID-19. A separate release showed producer prices rose 8.6% year over year in September, making for the sixth straight record increase. Prices edged up 0.5% month over month.
In stocks, Bank of America Corp. reported earnings and revenue that exceeded Wall Street estimates amid strong growth in its lending and stock-trading units. The bank also benefited from the release of $1.1 billion in reserves that were built up during the pandemic.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAC | BANK OF AMERICA CORP. | 46.99 | +0.55 | +1.17% |
Wells Fargo & Co.’s quarterly profit spiked 59%, boosted by the release of money set aside for losses during the pandemic. Both earnings and sales topped analysts’ expectations.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WFC | WELLS FARGO & CO. | 75.96 | +1.13 | +1.51% |
Morgan Stanley booked stronger-than-expected results as its wealth management division added a record amount of assets.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS | MORGAN STANLEY | 134.69 | -0.29 | -0.21% |
Citigroup Inc. earnings and sales outpaced estimates as the release of loan loss reserves and strong equities trading provided a lift.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | CITIGROUP INC. | 69.82 | +0.88 | +1.28% |
Elsewhere on the earnings front, Domino’s Pizza Inc. reported an unexpected drop in U.S. same-store sales.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPZ | DOMINO'S PIZZA INC. | 452.65 | +6.79 | +1.52% |
UnitedHealth Group Inc. raised its full-year profit outlook due to robust membership growth in its insurance business from both commercial and Medicare and Medicaid plans.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNH | UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC. | 590.78 | -6.49 | -1.09% |
Meanwhile, oil companies, including Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp. and Haliburton Co., gained as West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 87 cents to $81.31 a barrel.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 162.36 | +0.75 | +0.46% |
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORP. | 121.78 | -0.14 | -0.12% |
| HAL | HALLIBURTON CO. | 31.94 | +0.07 | +0.20% |
Miners, like Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Corp., added to Wednesday’s gains as gold rallied $3 to $1,796.70 an ounce.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOLD | BARRICK GOLD CORP. | 18.24 | +0.12 | +0.66% |
| NEM | NEWMONT CORP. | 43.37 | +0.06 | +0.14% |
In other news, Deere & Co. shares were in focus as more than 10,000 workers across 14 U.S. facilities went on strike over wages and benefits.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | DEERE & CO. | 446.73 | +9.31 | +2.13% |
Electric truck startup Lordstown Motors Corp. named Adam Kroll, a former investment banker who recently served as chief administrative officer at hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle maker Hyzon Motors, as its new finance chief.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIDE | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
Overseas markets mostly gained.
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European bourses were broadly higher with Britain’s FTSE 100 up 0.92%, Germany’s DAX advancing 1.4% and France’s CAC 40 rising 1.33%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.46% while China’s Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index remained closed for holiday.