US Stocks Advance As AI Shares Rebound On SpaceX Earnings

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- US stocks closed higher on Wednesday as AI shares rebounded following SpaceX's quarterly results, reported Xinhua.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 360.21 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 52,856.09. The S&P 500 added 44.6 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 7,757.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 278.04 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 26,702.86.

Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the green, with technology and industrials leading the gainers by going up 1.61 per cent and 0.91 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, communication services and real estate led the laggards by losing 1.33 per cent and 0.79 per cent, respectively.

US Treasury yields edged higher as a rebound in oil prices revived inflation concerns. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield approached 5.15 per cent, up about three basis points from Tuesday's close, while the 30-year yield hovered near 5.43 per cent. Yields remain near 19-year highs.

Oil prices settled mixed. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped about 0.7 per cent to US$97.15 a barrel, while Brent crude for December delivery traded flat.

On the corporate front, SpaceX soared nearly 7.8 per cent to lead the Nasdaq 100, a day after the company reported its first profitable quarter as a public company. Its third-quarter revenue surged 161 per cent, and CEO Elon Musk said the board and Tesla had formed special committees to discuss a possible merger.

Tesla rose about 3.4 per cent ahead of its results after the close, while Meta Platforms added less than 0.5 per cent and IBM gained almost 4 per cent ahead of their own reports. Super Micro Computer surged 9.55 per cent after raising its revenue guidance, while United Airlines jumped nearly 4 per cent after its quarterly results. Nvidia climbed about 2.5 per cent after unveiling new data-centre products.

"In many ways, the 'heart' of earnings season starts today, even though earnings season is almost two weeks old. I say that, because the most important stocks in the market will release results over the next two weeks," wrote Tom Essaye of Sevens Report.

On the downside, AT&T retreated 6.45 per cent to pace S&P 500 decliners despite beating expectations, as investors were disappointed by its wireless-subscriber numbers, while Netflix fell more than 5.3 per cent after its revenue forecast missed estimates. Abbott Laboratories declined 1.89 per cent and Philip Morris International pulled back 1.22 per cent.

 Traders continued to see about an 85-per cent chance that the Federal Reserve holds rates steady at its Oct 27-28 meeting, according to CME FedWatch, keeping attention on corporate earnings for direction. 

--BERNAMA-XINHUA