Market close: Equities digest another busy earnings day
20:30, 26 October 2021
Equity markets closed in the green on Tuesday following another busy day for earnings that will continue in after-hours as tech companies Alphabet and Microsoft report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up just 0.04% to close at 35,756, despite that for the second day in a row, the index hit a new 52-week intraday high of 35,892.
Likewise, the S&P 500 gained 0.18% on the day reaching a new 52-week intra-day high of 4,598 and closing at 4,574. The Nasdaq traded up by 0.06% to 15,235 as the tech-heavy index awaits results from Google’s parent company and Microsoft.
Market movers
The biggest winners on the day were shipping company United Parcel Service and semiconductor maker Nvidia, each which climbed by nearly 7% on the day.
Higher shipping prices and an increase in e-commerce allowed UPS to top analysts’ expectations during the third quarter. Meanwhile, Nvidia benefitted from new Facebook spending plans that are expected to boost the chipmaker’s revenue.
On the other side of divide, Lockheed Martin shares tumbled by nearly 12% for the biggest loss on the day. The defense contractor not only missed analysts' expectations but also guided for lower revenues and profit margins next year as it works through several issues.
Another defense contractor, Raytheon, also reported a miss in third-quarter results, but only saw its shares fall by around 2%.
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Global markets
In Asian markets, the Shanghai Composite is 0.34% lower while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.77% on the day.
Meanwhile, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.77% on the day. Canada's S&P / TSX Composite ended the day down 0.52%.
Read more: 3M overcomes supply chain constraints in Q3 earnings
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