US Markets Mixed as Earnings Season Gains Momentum; GM, Halliburton Lead Wall Street Rally
Wall Street traded mixed on October 21 as strong corporate earnings from GM, Halliburton, and Coca-Cola lifted sentiment, while valuation concerns capped broader gains.
US Stocks Today: Wall Street Mixed as Earnings Season Heats Up; GM and Halliburton Lead Gains
After a volley of corporate earnings reports, investors were still concerned about the high valuations, so Wall Street opened on a mixed note on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1% to 46,757.20, while S&P 500 lost 0.1% to 6,731.14, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3% to 22,933.67, as per AFP.
🚗 GM, Halliburton Lead Market Gains
The shares of General Motors (GM) went up by 10.2% after the company announced its quarterly earnings that exceeded the market expectations and also upgraded its full-year forecast. Mary Barra, the CEO of GM, said that the company would cut losses of electric vehicles (EV) by 2026, but at the same time admitted that the rate of EV adoption is much slower than what was originally estimated.
Halliburton and Danaher both gained more than 8% due to strong quarterly profits, while Coca-Cola and GE Aerospace rose 3.4% and 4.2%, respectively, driven by solid earnings.
Warner Bros. Discovery experienced a 10.6% surge after the media giant announced that it was contemplating a partial or full sale following “unsolicited interest from multiple parties,” as reported by AFP.. The move follows its earlier plan to split Discovery Global from Warner Bros.
📉 Some Stocks Dragged Lower
- Despite overall positive sentiment, several stocks weighed on major indices.
- PulteGroup dropped 4.1%, even after reporting stronger profits.
- Northrop Grumman fell 2.3% on disappointing revenue.
- Alphabet declined 1.3% from its recent record high, becoming the heaviest drag on the S&P 500, AP reported.
- Analyst Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com noted that corporate earnings for the September quarter have “largely exceeded expectations,” and the forward guidance remains broadly positive.
However, CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall cautioned that “investors are becoming wary of stretched valuations” after substantial year-to-date market gains.
🌍 Global Markets Overview
Global sentiment was upbeat, with Asian and European markets trading higher.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3%, inching closer to the 50,000 mark, following Sanae Takaichi’s appointment as prime minister, which boosted expectations for pro-growth policies.
Shanghai Composite gained 1.4%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.7%, amid optimism over a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.
💵 Bond Market Update
In the U.S. bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield eased to 3.95% from 4.00% on Monday, reflecting a slight increase in investor demand for safe-haven assets.
