U.S. Stock ETFs Rebound as Traders Refocus on Earnings, Economy

U.S. markets and stock ETFs rebounded Tuesday after their worst day in four months as corporate earnings and economic data were put on center stage.

On Tuesday, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) was up 1.4%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEArca: DIA) rose 0.7% and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) gained 1.0%.

Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial, argued that investors are turning their attention back to the earnings season and economic updates, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The U.S. economy is in pretty good shape, and should be able to withstand the fallout from the coronavirus, should it spiral,” Detrick told the WSJ.

Investors will be closely watching for prominent names like Apple, Starbucks, and eBay to report earnings.

The latest earnings season is now expected to report a 0.4% fall for the fourth quarter, according to Refinitiv data. Of the 104 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, 68.3% have beat expectations, compared to the average 74% rate from the previous four quarters.

The U.S. Commerce Department revealed durable-goods orders increased 2.4% in December on defense spending. However, a key measure that excludes aircraft orders and defense spending dipped by 0.9%.

Economic data also showed U.S. consumer confidence jumped to a five-month high in January.

Additionally, markets were assuaged after the head of the World Health Organization said he was confident in China’s ability to contain the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed 106 people, Reuters reports.

“Investors are still trying to assess the possible impact of the coronavirus and they probably feel that yesterday’s decline was a bit overdone,” Daniel Grosvenor, director of equity strategy at Oxford Economics, told Reuters. “Our base case is that economic impact is likely to be relatively short-lived, but there is scope for volatility in the near-term.”

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