US stocks close up as strong earnings offset global growth worries
U.S. stocks Wednesday closed mostly higher as strong earnings boosted traders' sentiment, but global growth worries remained a drag on the market.
Investors digested better-than-expected results from Dow components IBM, United Technologies and Procter & Gamble.
Comcast reported quarterly revenue and profit above analysts' estimates on Wednesday, as it lost fewer video subscribers than expected and grew its broadcast television and theme parks businesses.
United Technologies topped quarterly expectations and forecast 2019 earnings above estimates, boosted by the acquisition of aircraft parts maker Rockwell Collins.
| 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% |
Procter & Gamble raised its full-year sales forecast and beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue and profit on Wednesday, driven by price increases and robust demand for detergent and premium skin care brands.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMCSA | COMCAST CORP. | 43.47 | -0.03 | -0.07% |
| UTX | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| PG | PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. | 176.25 | +3.48 | +2.02% |
| IBM | INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. | 222.98 | +0.66 | +0.30% |
Shares of tech companies weighed on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, including TE Connectivity, Take-Two Interactive Software and Qualcomm.
However, China's economy cooled in the fourth quarter -- at the slowest pace since the financial crisis -- under pressure from lower domestic demand and the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEL | TE CONNECTIVITY | 152.22 | +2.35 | +1.57% |
| TTWO | TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE INC. | 188.15 | +1.57 | +0.84% |
| QCOM | QUALCOMM INC. | 156.79 | +1.33 | +0.86% |
Along with Europe's weakening economy and worries about Brexit, investors traded cautiously.In European trading, London’s FTSE closed down 0.9 percent, Germany’s DAX fell by 0.2 percent and France’s CAC slipped 0.2 percent.
In Asia on Wednesday, China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.1 percent.
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Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ticked up less than 0.1 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei ended down 0.1 percent.
FOX BUSINESS' Ken Martin contributed to this report.