US open: Stocks stage slight gains as tax reform plans pass another hurdle

Wall Street is seeing slight gains following another wave of corporate results and despite news that the White House's tax reform plans had cleared another key hurdle.

Thus, at 1728 BST the Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead by 0.32% or 73.68 points at 23,402.48, alongside a gain of 0.17% or 4.37 points to 2,561.58 for the S&P 500 while the Nasdaq Composite was dipping 0.02% to trade at 6,562.59.

In parallel, and following initial gains, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was unchanged at 2.43%.

Of key importance, the US House of Representatives approved the fiscal year 2018 budget which it was believed would pave the way towards reforming the country's tax code, which Republicans in the lower chamber continued to insist would occur before Thanksgiving.

From a sector standpoint, the best performance was being seen in the following industrial groups: Footwear (3.24%), Trucking (2.84%) and Commodity chemicals (2.58%).

Banks were also putting in another strong showing, with the KBW sector gauge up by 0.96% to 102.08.

Against that backdrop, Thursday's slate of economic data was more or less as expected by the consensus.

In that regard, America's trade deficit widened by 1.6% month-on-month from -$63.3bn in August to reach $64.1bn for September. Economists had forecast a short fall of $64.0bn.

Meanwhile, initial US jobless claims rose by 10,000 during the week ending on 21 October to reach 233,000, according to the Department of Labor.

Pending home sales were flat on the month in September, instead of the 0.3% rise that economists had anticipated.

Overseas, just before the 'opening bell' the European Central Bank announced that it would leave its main policy interest rates unchanged and confirmed that it plans to reduce the level of its monthly bond purchases but extend the length of time that its stimulus programme will run for. Purchases will drop to €30bn from €60bn as of January but the monetary stimulus programme will run until at least next September.

In US corporate news, Celgene was in focus after the release of its third-quarter results which sent its stock crashing lower with shares of Mylan slipping alongside it on news that it won a UK patent case over Teva's multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone.

Twitter was Celgene's mirror image, as its shares rocketed on the back of its third-quarter earnings that beat expectations.

Walgreens was also active and higher as its quarterly profit and revenues surpassed analysts' expectations.

Bristol-Myers Squibb was another top faller after it posted a 7% jump in third-quarter revenue but adjusted earnings missed expectations on the back of an inventory write-off.

Meantime, oil producer ConocoPhillips jumped as it reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit but cut its capital budget to further reduce costs, while Dunkin Brands retreated following a surprise drop in comparable sales at its Baskin-Robbins restaurants, which dented overall third-quarter profit.

Ford shares were flat after the car maker's third-quarter earnings beat estimates and the company lifted its guidance on full-year profit.

Pfizer also dipped, following a Reuters report that it will start the auction process for its consumer healthcare division in November, while Buffalo Wild Wings surged after the restaurant chain posted a big rise in profit late on Wednesday.

Dow Jones - Risers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $57.08 6.84%
American Express Co. (AXP) $95.33 1.57%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.93 1.16%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $101.96 1.03%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $88.79 0.91%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $41.15 0.91%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $142.63 0.70%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $167.12 0.66%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $157.37 0.61%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $79.11 0.61%

Dow Jones - Fallers

General Electric Co. (GE) $21.30 -2.70%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $131.29 -1.43%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $62.26 -1.35%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $241.97 -1.17%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.86 -1.13%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $154.52 -0.87%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $118.44 -0.66%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $137.59 -0.47%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $34.15 -0.44%
Boeing Co. (BA) $257.66 -0.29%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $57.08 6.84%
Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) $105.28 6.44%
Anthem Inc (ANTM) $206.95 5.99%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $157.84 5.40%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $125.31 5.03%
Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) $161.37 4.81%
Total System Services Inc. (TSS) $71.19 4.41%
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $160.56 4.36%
Robert Half International Inc. (RHI) $52.76 3.74%
Amerisource Bergen Corp. (ABC) $84.74 3.53%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Celgene Corp. (CELG) $96.65 -19.16%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $278.80 -14.03%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $102.72 -10.09%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $12.90 -9.66%
Allegion (ALLE) $80.62 -8.88%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $58.53 -8.62%
Xerox Corp. (XRX) $30.62 -8.47%
Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $14.02 -7.98%
Hess Corp. (HES) $40.64 -7.76%
Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $104.43 -6.34%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $208.11 2.66%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $227.20 2.57%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $108.85 2.47%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $71.49 1.79%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $118.25 1.65%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $206.25 1.57%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $196.74 1.53%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $108.34 1.53%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $207.85 1.46%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $92.95 1.46%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Celgene Corp. (CELG) $96.65 -19.16%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $314.88 -8.71%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $53.24 -5.72%
CA Inc. (CA) $32.45 -4.92%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $138.36 -3.71%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $21.13 -2.81%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $128.31 -2.80%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $21.16 -2.62%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $82.65 -2.52%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $80.46 -2.39%