Dow Hits 36,000 As Earnings Lift Wall Street

Wall Street's main indexes rose on Tuesday to record highs as a strong earnings season continued to lift sentiment for equities, while investors were looking ahead to the outcome of a critical Federal Reserve meeting.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched record closing highs for a fourth straight session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its third straight record close and ended above 36,000 for the first time.

Pfizer shares rose 4.1 percent after the drugmaker said it expected 2021 sales of the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with German partner BioNTech to reach US$36 billion.

Overall, third-quarter earnings have come in better-than-expected for US companies as the economy continues to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. With some 320 companies having reported so far, S&P 500 earnings are expected to have climbed 40.2 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, according to Refinitiv IBES.

"From a fundamental perspective, there is a strong underpinning for the performance of the broad equity market complex," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at US Bank Wealth Management.

"The next several days and weeks will include significant developments on the policy front, and we are watching that very closely because as we transition out of the earnings reporting season many of the macro factors will start to take centre stage again.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.39 percent, to 36,053, the S&P 500 gained 0.37 percent to 4,631 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.34 percent, to 15,650.

The Fed on Wednesday is expected to approve plans to scale back its US$120 billion monthly bond-buying program put in place to help the economy during the pandemic. Investors will also be focused on commentary about interest rates and how sustained the recent surge in inflation is. (Reuters)