S&P 500 creeps higher as results roll in; investors await Netflix
By Noel Randewich and Ankika Biswas
(Reuters) -The S&P 500 rose marginally on Tuesday as investors digested a mixed bag of early quarterly results and awaited a slew of additional reports from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and other companies later this week.
The S&P 500 is trading near record highs, and many investors view upcoming quarterly reports from the heavily weighted «Magnificent 7» group of megacap companies as key to whether Wall Street's recent rally continues or loses steam.
«It's a crescendo of reports tomorrow and Thursday, and then next week will be even busier,» said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. «We've got a lot of things to contemplate over the course of this week and next that will likely will end up being a market positive.»
3M tumbled more than 11% after forecasting dour annual earnings, while Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) dipped 1.3% after reporting quarterly results just above expectations.
D.R. Horton dropped almost 10% after the homebuilder missed estimates for first-quarter profit.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) rallied 5.7% after forecasting a strong annual profit and posting its highest quarterly subscriber additions in nearly two years, while Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) gained 4.5% after it topped second-quarter profit expectations.
Netflix dipped 0.3% ahead of its report after the market closes. Tesla, which reports late on Wednesday, declined 0.4%.
Analysts on average see S&P 500 fourth-quarter earnings up 4.6% year over year, compared to 7.5% growth in the third quarter, according to LSEG data.
Stock market valuations appear rich. The S&P 500 is trading at about 20 times forward 12-month earnings estimates, well above its long-term average of 16
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