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.
According to Thomson Reuters, S&P 500 company earnings are projected to rise 9.9% in the second quarter, compared to earlier expectations of an 8% gain at the start of the month, Reuters reports.
“The earnings season in general seems to be really quite strong and there haven’t been any significant surprises,” Paul Springmeyer, investment managing director at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, told Reuters. “It’s still a very much earnings-driven environment and that is continuing to boost stocks.”
Related: Strong Earnings Help U.S. Stock ETFs Drive to New Heights
Traders were also waiting on the Federal Reserve‘s statement, which is scheduled to be released at the conclusion of its two-day meeting later Wednesday. While many don’t expect the Fed to hike rates this time around, it is expected to touch upon its monetary policy stance and the timing of the highly anticipated balance sheet reduction.
“We don’t really expect any changes coming out of today’s meeting and expect them to maintain status quo,” Springmeyer added. “We will be looking out for any details about the balance sheet reduction.”
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