U.S. equities and stock exchange traded funds were on pace to set another record day as a string of well-received quarterly earnings reports helped fuel risk-on appetite.
The S&P 500 Index, along with related funds including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY), iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV) and Vanguard 500 Index (NYSEARCA: VOO), were 0.3% higher Tuesday.
While the tech segment and the Nasdaq were pressured on Alphabet (NasdaqGS: GOOGL) results, shares of McDonald (NYSE: MCD) jumped on reports of its biggest global sales at established restaurants in five years and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) surged on its improved full-year outlook for the second time this year, Reuters reports.
Further adding on to the bullish sentiment, data revealed a rise in U.S. consumer confidence amid optimism over the labor market.
“It feels like people are maybe getting a little more optimistic that things are, if not improving dramatically, then at least holding pretty steady in the economy and that would be pretty good for stocks,” William Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird, told Reuters.
Related: ETFs Mixed as Traders Weigh Earnings, Capitol Hill
Looking ahead, market watchers will be waiting on an expected statement out of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
”I think there’s a relatively low ceiling on where [policy]can go unless inflation kicks in,” John Maxwell, fund manager at Ivy Investments, told the Wall Street Journal. “We don’t have signs of inflation that need to be tamed.”
Investors were also waiting on a U.S. Senate vote on healthcare legislation for its implications for the Trump administration’s planned pro-growth domestic agenda, which has supported the market rally earlier this year.
According to Thomson Reuters, with over one-fourth of the S&P 500 companies reported results, earnings are expected to rise 9.1% in the second quarter, compared to earlier estimates of an 8% gain at the start of the month.
For more information on the markets and U.S. Stock ETFs, visit our S&P 500 category.