U.S. equities and stock exchange traded funds hit new intra-day highs Wednesday, strengthening on a round of strong corporate earnings and climbing commodities prices.
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 flat Wednesday after hitting new highs early morning.
“Earnings in general have been very good,” Paul Brigandi, managing director and head of trading at Direxion Investments, told the Wall Street Journal. “That’s fueled the continued optimism in the market.”
Among the leaders Wednesday, Boeing (NYSE: BA) shares surged after the aerospace giant beat profit expectations and raised its full-year guidance. BA is now the priciest stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
In the S&P 500, Advanced Micro Devices (NasdaqGS: AMD) jumped after the chipmaker revealed better-than-expected revenue gains.
According to FactSet, about a third of S&P 500 companies have reported results so far, with 75% of companies beating earnings expectations.