New York: The three major US stock indexes added to their recent record run on Wednesday, as energy shares gained from a jump in oil prices and financials rose after strong private jobs data.
JPMorgan and Bank of America rose about 1 per cent, while Goldman Sachs’ 1.5 per cent increase gave the biggest boost to the Dow.
The rise was also supported by Facebook’s 1.4 per cent gain ahead of its earnings report.
US private employers hired 235,000 workers in October, the most since March and exceeding a median forecast of 200,000 among economists polled by Reuters, the ADP National Employment Report showed.
“We’re in a very positive environment,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
“Economic data and earnings continue to remain a reason for optimism. The market will look for signs of a robust economy, and I think the momentum is in place.” Following the strong ADP data, focus shifts to Friday’s non-farm payrolls report for October. The data will reveal if the labour market has strengthened after a hurricane-ravaged September.
Third-quarter earnings have been largely positive, with 72.9 per cent of the S&P 500 companies that have reported topping profit expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data. That is above the 72 per cent profit-beat rate in the past four quarters.
Estee Lauder jumped nearly 10 per cent after the cosmetics maker reported better-than-expected sales and profit.
US Steel surged 14 per cent and Garmin climbed 3.7 per cent after strong earnings.
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at the end of its two-day meeting later today as speculation swirls on who will be its next leader, but will likely point to a firming economy as it edges closer to a possible rate rise next month.
