U.S. stocks surge as solid earnings season continues

Alsharq Tribune-AFP 

U.S. stocks climbed on Wednesday as investors evaluated a fresh round of corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 81.38 points, or 0.18 percent, to 44,193.12. The S&P 500 advanced 45.87 points, or 0.73 percent, to 6,345.06, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 252.87 points, or 1.21 percent, to close at 21,169.42, buoyed by a surge in Apple shares.

Six of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended higher, with consumer discretionary and consumer staples leading the way, rising 2.51 percent and 1.73 percent, respectively. Health care and energy lagged, falling 1.52 percent and 0.91 percent.

Apple shares surged 5.09 percent after a White House official confirmed the company plans to increase its domestic manufacturing investment by 100 billion U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile, corporate earnings continued to impress, with more than 80 percent of companies reporting so far beating Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet.

McDonald's rose 3 percent after beating global sales estimates for the second quarter, helped by budget-friendly promotions. Disney, on the other hand, dropped 2.66 percent after missing expectations for its TV and sports programming revenue. Advanced Micro Devices tumbled 6.42 percent as disappointing results in its key data center division weighed on the stock.

Michael Green, portfolio manager and chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, worries that investors are not rewarding beats as they have in the past. He said there are increasing questions about the quality of the earnings that are emerging.