- US stocks climbed as strong corporate earnings outweighed inflation concerns.
- The Dow hit an intraday record while the S&P 500 closed higher for the sixth straight session.
- Bitcoin hit a new high, while oil and gold rallied.
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US stocks notched new highs on Wednesday as strong strong corporate earnings outweighed inflation and supply chain concerns.
The benchmark S&P 500 closed higher for the sixth straight session, buoyed by stronger than expected third-quarter earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average scaled new intraday highs, though failed to hit a closing record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped, dragged by Netflix's outlook of decreased profitability.
A majority of companies that have reported earnings have beat analyst expectations so far. "Indeed, the selloff from September feels like an increasingly distant memory now," Deutsche Bank analysts said.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 4,536.19, up 0.37%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,609.34, up 0.43% (152.03 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 15,121.68, down 0.05%
Equities have been boosted by strong earnings reports, defying more muted expectations due to ongoing supply chain disruptions that have pushed prices of goods higher and the persistent labor shortages that have slowed the economic rebound.
"We believe that the stock market has more to climb in this bull market and that some of the COVID-19 headwinds are receding even as inflation increasingly becomes a headwind," Chris Zaccarelli, CIO at Independent Advisor Alliance, said in a Wednesday note. "Many companies continue to have pricing power, which should preserve corporate profits."
Fundstrat Global Advisors on Wednesday formally raised its S&P 500 year-end target to 4,800, representing potential upside of about 7% as risk-on sentiment increases.
"The improvement in market technicals, such as clearing the 50-day moving average, is actually suggesting that underlying trends are getting stronger," head of research Tom Lee said.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.648% - a level last seen in May - compared to Tuesday's 1.634%. Yields rise when bond prices fall.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin climbed to a record high of $66,909, a day after ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF had the second-biggest trading debut of all time.
If the bitcoin manages to see consecutive daily closes above former resistance at $65,000, Fairlead Strategies' Katie Stockton believes it will hit $89,800, representing potential upside of 38% from the breakout.
Ahead, asset management firm VanEck looks set next week to launch an ETF tied to bitcoin futures after October 23 on the Cboe BZX Exchange, according to a company filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.55%, to $84.25 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, tacked on 0.78%, to $85.74 per barrel.
Gold jumped as much as 0.88%, to $1,784.69 per ounce.