Stock Market News For Oct 25, 2017

The Dow breached yet another record level on Tuesday after industrial stocks rallied. Such gains were made possible by strong third quarter earnings for 3M and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT). Moreover, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq came within half a percentage point of their all time highs. Meanwhile, biotech shares tanked, capping gains for the Nasdaq. Broader markets also gained as market watchers remained hopeful that the new tax code would be signed into policy soon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed at 23,441.76, gaining 0.7%. The S&P 500 Index (INX) increased 0.2% to close at 2,569.13. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) closed at 6,598.43, increasing 0.2%. A total of 6.2 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, higher than the last 20-session average of 5.9 billion shares. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1.16-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, advancers outnumbered decliners by 1.03-to-1 ratio. The CBOE VIX increased 1.8% to close at 11.27.

Dow Boosts Broader Markets

Dow continued firing on all cylinders on Tuesday. The blue-chip posted its 54th record close so far this year, garnering almost 168 points in the process. Dow’s stellar rally was supported by astounding earnings from some of its top components such as 3M (NYSE:MMM) and Caterpillar (NYSE:T) . Meanwhile, shares of JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) surged 1.6% and breached the $100 mark for the first time. This also boosted gains for the blue-chip index. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Shares of 3M gained 5.9% after the company posted stunning third quarter 2017 earnings. Driven by broad-based organic growth across all segments and geographies, the company reported strong third-quarter 2017 results with healthy year-over-year increase in earnings and revenues. (Read More)

Further, shares of Caterpillar rallied almost 5%, buoyed by strong earnings for third quarter 2017. The industrial giant’s shares advanced 6.47% in pre-market trading as it delivered another upbeat quarter with adjusted earnings per share surging 129% year over year to $1.95 in third-quarter 2017. Earnings also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.22 by a wide margin of 60%. (Read More)

S&P 500, Nasdaq Also Close with Gains

The S&P 500 advanced a meager 4.15 points to end in gains. Of its 11 major sectors, seven ended in the positive territory, with financials leading the gainers, followed by the industrial and materials stocks. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLF), the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLI) and the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) gained 0.7%, 0.6% and 0.6% respectively. Such a showing was buoyed by gains for Corning Inc (NYSE:GLW) and 3M. Shares of Corning rallied 6.4% and bolstered gains for S&P 500.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq added 11.6 points and also ended in the green. However, gains for the tech-laden index were capped by losses for biotech stocks. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) lost 0.8% and weighed on broader markets. However, both Nasdaq and the S&P 500 came within sniffing distance of posting a record close.

Hopes Surrounding New Tax Code, Earnings Driving Broader Markets

Markets also gained from positive investor sentiment due to hopes that the existing tax code would soon be amended. The green signal to the budget blueprint ensures taxpayers that existing tax codes would be rewritten, more so because it has unlocked a procedure using which President Trump and his team can push through their tax reforms using only Republican votes.

Investors are also expecting positive results from a slew of corporate earnings due for a release later in the week. Market watchers also have a keen eye for the release of third-quarter GDP of the United States as well as a gathering of the Eurozone’s central bankers scheduled for Thursday.

Stocks That Made Headlines

AT&T Q3 Earnings, Revenues Lag Estimates on Cord-Cutting

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) reported disappointing third-quarter 2017 financial results. (Read More)

Canadian National Q3 Earnings & Revenues Lag Estimates

Canadian National Railway Company’s (NYSE:CNI) third-quarter 2017 earnings per share fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.06. (Read More)

Soft Protiviti Revenues Hurt Robert Half's Q3 Earnings

Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI) continued with its dismal performance in third-quarter 2017, which marked the company’s second straight quarter of earnings and sales miss. (Read More)

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