The indices of Wall Street had mixed performance this Tuesday (21), with investors looking for direction amid a series of corporate earnings after a rally led by the technology sector in the previous session.
While earnings season has kicked into high gear, analysts warn that stock values and indexes near record highs could limit the sustainability of earnings, suggesting that solid earnings alone would not be enough unless companies also demonstrate margin resilience and offer robust forecasts.
“Investors may be disappointed if companies don’t beat estimates by much, even though those estimates are already huge,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
“Clearly there is no desire to be a seller at the moment because everyone expects earnings season to be good.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.05% to 46,728.86 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.06% to 6,739.28 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.07% to 22,974.97 points.
General Motors shares rose 12% after a more positive tariff outlook helped the automaker raise its full-year forecast. Ford rose 2% ahead of its results on Thursday.
In the consumer staples sector, Coca-Cola gained 3.5% after beating expectations in the third quarter on unwavering demand for its soft drinks.
Philip Morris fell 6.5% after its results.
In the defense sector, GE Aerospace rose 2.2% after raising its full-year profit forecast. RTX also raised its forecasts for the year, causing its shares to rise 10.5%.
Northrop Grumman lost 2.2%, after reducing its sales projection, while Lockheed Martin had a slight decline.
This week’s balance sheet also includes Tesla, IBM, Procter & Gamble and Intel.
