Stock Market News for Jul 25, 2023
U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday as investors digested mixed earnings results from a slew of companies and looked forward to a batch of big tech companies’ releases, expected later this week. Investors are also waiting for the all-important Fed meeting scheduled for this week. All three major stock indexes closed in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.5% or 183.55 points to close at 35,411.24, to record its 11th straight day of gains. Notably, 21 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while nine closed in the red.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 14,058.87, gaining 0.2%.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, driven by a rally in energy stocks, to end at 4,554.64. Two out of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory, while 11 finished in the green. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) gained 1.6%, while the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) slipped 0.2%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 2.3% to 13.91. A total of 9.43 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 10.30 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.61-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.09-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.
Mixed Q2 Earnings Results
Stocks finished higher on the first day of the week which saw a number of industry bellwethers reporting their quarterly results.
Chevron Corporation (CVX) reported quarterly earnings of $3.55 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.36 per share. The company posted revenues of $50.8 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 52.7%. Chevron currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Range Resources Corporation (RRC) came up with earnings of $0.03 per share for the quarter ended June 2023, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.21 per share. The company posted revenues of $586.32 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5%.
HBT Financial, Inc. (HBT) reported second-quarter earnings of $0.58 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.60 per share. However, revenues of $58.79 billion marginally lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.34%.
Investors AwaitBig Tech Earnings and Fed Meeting
Market participants are eagerly awaiting earnings reports from tech giants, including Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) scheduled this week. Besidesinvestors are also keeping a close eye on the Fed’s next move as officials meet on Wednesday for the July FOMC.
The central bank is expected to go for another interest rate hike of 25 basis points. Market participants believe that this could be the last interest rate hike in its current monetary tightening cycle, following the recent economic data that hints at cooling inflation. Investors are closely observing these developments and trying to gauge their impact on the financial landscape and future monetary policy decisions.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Range Resources Corporation (RRC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
HBT Financial, Inc. (HBT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) : Free Stock Analysis Report
