Better than expected earnings reports moved indexes up
Some companies which are major components of S&P 500 reported better than expected earnings. That moved the stock market to a rally attempt. Will this be a sufficient catalyst for the market to sustain the growth? We will see.
Caterpillar Inc., 3M Co., UPS Inc. and AT&T Inc. all topped earnings forecasts and raised their outlooks for future profit. Only Travelers reported a dip in earnings, but that came as bad weather led to more claims payments.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 119.88, or 1.2 percent, to 10,241.85. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 15.00, or 1.4 percent, to 1,084.59, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 35.56, or 1.6 percent, to 2,222.89.
I would still proceed with caution and postpone purchasing individual stocks or ETFs. I would be buying NTF (No Transaction Fee) mutual funds in smaller portions rather than one big purchase and take advantage of possible further decline in price if the market slips back into correction.
Stumble It!
Mark in Ma.gnolia
