US open: Dow Industrials clambers atop 23,000 mark for first time
The Dow Industrials climbed past the 23,000 points mark for the first time ever, as the third-quarter earnings season got into full swing, and then slipped lower.
At 1624 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials Average was ahead by 0.08% or 17.54 points at 22,974.50, even as the S&P 500 drifted 0.05% or 1.30 points lower to 2,556.34 while the Nasdaq Composite was flat at 6,623.76.
From a sector standpoint, the best performance was being put in by the following industrial groups: Non-ferrous metals (3.53%), Health Care providers (2.61%) and Media agencies (1.82%).
Morgan Stanley was on the front foot after it reported an 11% jump in quarterly profit thanks to a solid performance from its investment banking and wealth management businesses.
Gains for the Wall Street heavyweight were in stark contrast to Goldman Sachs, with shares in the latter lower despite having managed to beat the Street consensus for both quarterly earnings and sales. Instead, investors seemed very much focused on a 26% drop in fixed income trading revenues.
Netflix was also in the red - but just off its 52-week highs - even after it said late on Monday that it added more new subscribers than expected in the third quarter. The video streaming company added 5.3m subscribers versus expectations of 4.5m.
Health insurer United Health Group and Johnson & Johnson on the other hand were top gainers following their latest updates to investors.
Harley Davidson was also in focus after the motorcycle maker said third-quarter profit declined 40% amid weakened demand, yet its shares sprinted higher.
Elsewhere, Sears was also likely to be active after the chief investment officer of the second-largest shareholder stepped down from the department store chain’s board of directors.
IBM was set to report after the market close.
Despite some well-received earnings, FXTM analyst Hussein Sayed was cautious.
"All three major US indices reached new record highs yesterday, but investors have got used to this, and record highs are no longer making headlines. For those who have been waiting for a correction to buy the dips, they have missed the opportunity. The threat of nuclear war, expectations of higher interest rates, hurricanes and terrorist attacks all failed to pull markets from record levels.
"Equity strategists have been forced to adjust their year-end target higher for US indices, although little justification is provided. Valuations are becoming incredibly overstretched, yet investors do not seem to worry," Sayed said.
Dow Jones - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $202.28 4.70%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $139.19 2.26%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $51.84 0.91%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $86.25 0.59%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $165.82 0.49%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $160.28 0.25%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $164.52 0.18%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.18 0.18%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $83.93 0.00%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.09 -0.01%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $238.19 -1.74%
General Electric Co. (GE) $23.08 -1.20%
3M Co. (MMM) $216.65 -0.95%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $62.93 -0.65%
Boeing Co. (BA) $258.17 -0.60%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $130.70 -0.59%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $92.61 -0.57%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $39.53 -0.57%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.80 -0.50%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $128.21 -0.47%
S&P 500 - Risers
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) $198.32 8.75%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $202.28 4.70%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $48.23 3.54%
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) $21.34 3.27%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $346.13 3.11%
PG&E Corp. (PCG) $54.84 2.64%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $87.67 2.53%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $93.18 2.49%
Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) $75.69 2.38%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $327.81 2.36%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $14.69 -3.77%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $21.08 -3.74%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $33.42 -3.10%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $10.72 -3.07%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $3.73 -2.36%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $15.11 -2.17%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $17.66 -2.16%
Kansas City Southern (KSU) $99.85 -2.03%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $34.30 -1.97%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $26.02 -1.96%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $346.13 3.11%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $199.20 2.84%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $22.93 1.82%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $139.06 1.72%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $211.73 1.30%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $142.65 1.29%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $36.36 1.28%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $47.83 1.22%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $354.51 1.11%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $53.40 1.06%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $33.42 -3.10%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $151.80 -2.24%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $17.66 -2.16%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $18.69 -1.94%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $116.21 -1.58%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $40.85 -1.54%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $15.51 -1.53%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $54.63 -1.51%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $199.66 -1.49%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $278.93 -1.29%