Stock Market News for Aug 4, 2021

Benchmarks closed in the positive territory on Tuesday, as investors ignored the rise in new cases of the delta variant, and instead focused more on the upbeat second-quarter earnings results.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 278.24 points, or 0.8%, to close at 35,116.40 on Tuesday. The majority of the stocks of the blue-chip index closed in the green, led by a 1.9% gain in shares of International Business Machines Corporation IBM. Amgen Inc. AMGN and 3M Company MMM followed closely with a 1.8% gain. All the aforementioned stocks carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

However, The Walt Disney Company DIS, McDonald's Corporation MCD and Visa Inc. V continued moving downward, closing at least 1% lower on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 rose 35.99 points, or 0.8%, to end the session at a record close of 4,423.15. Only the communication services sector closed in the red on Tuesday. 10 of the 11 major sectors ended in the green led by a 1.8% gain in the energy sector boosted by stellar corporate earnings. The health and the industrials sectors closed 1.4% higher and both the financials and materials sectors closed at least 1% higher for the session.

The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 14,761.29, after adding 80.23 points, or 0.6%. Moderna, Inc. MRNA was the biggest gainer of the index rising 11.5%, followed by a 4.2% and 3.6% rise in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. MU and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD. Strong gains in tech bigwigs helped in offsetting 11.4% drop in shares of NetEase, Inc. NTES and 5.4% decline in Trip.com Group Limited TCOM. Shares of Apple Inc. AAPL rose 1.3% after dropping significantly last week. Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Microsoft Corporation MSFT shares also closed 0.8% higher on Tuesday.

Yesterday, the fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 7.3%, to close at 18.04. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones for 1.60-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while a 1.05-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted 70 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 91 new highs and 117 new lows. A total of 9.28 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 9.73 billion.

Investors Access Q2 Earnings Result

While the emergence and spread of highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continue to spook investors, better-than-expected second-quarter earnings helped benchmarks to end in the positive on Tuesday. Mask mandates have already been reintroduced in several states like Louisiana and San Francisco. According to a MarketWatch article, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that the seven-day moving average is 72,000 for coronavirus cases per day as of July 31.

Shares of ConocoPhillips COP jumped 2.3% after the company reported second-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of $1.27 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.15. The reports were aided by increased production volumes due to the Concho acquisition and rising realized commodity prices. Production from the Lower 48, Canada, Europe and other regions, also marked an increase. (Read More)

Under Armour, Inc. UAA also reported stellar second-quarter 2021 earnings of 24 cents per share, much higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 6 cents. An improved operating model and investments across product and marketing helped in boosting revenues in the reported quarter. (Read More)

Factory Orders Up in June Despite Supply Constraints

On Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. factory orders rose 1.5% in June, beating the consensus estimate of 1% increase. The significant increase in orders was due to stronger demand for airplanes, oil and other industrial goods. May’s figure was also upwardly revised to 2.3% rise and the recent streak highlights that demand has surged well above pre-pandemic levels. The report also states that durable-goods orders rose 0.9%, while nondurable goods like food, clothing, and drugs advanced 2.1%. Shares of The Boeing Company BA jumped 1.7% after the company reported an increase in airplane orders with an increase in travel and transportation.

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The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Visa Inc. (V) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
ConocoPhillips (COP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
3M Company (MMM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
McDonalds Corporation (MCD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Walt Disney Company (DIS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NetEase, Inc. (NTES) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Trip.com Group Limited Sponsored ADR (TCOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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