Day Traders Diary

10/26/21

The major averages eked out a gain as the S&P 500 climbed to record levels on Tuesday as major corporations continued to turn in solid quarterly results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 14 points to touch another all-time high. The S&P 500 rose 8 points or 0.4%, hitting an intraday record as well. The Nasdaq Composite traded up 9 points or 0.3% higher.

An intraday reversal in shares of Facebook weighed on major averages at midday. After trading flat to higher to start the session Facebook shares dropped more than 5%. The company topped analysts' earnings expectations but missed estimates for revenue and monthly active users.

United Parcel Service saw its shares jump 7% after the shipping firm posted strong beats on profit and revenue across all business segments. Dow-component 3M gained slightly after beating earnings on the top and bottom lines.

General Electric rose 5% after the company issued an upward revision to its full-year earnings forecast while reporting higher than expected third-quarter profit.

Tesla gained another 5% after the electric vehicle company soared more than 12% in the previous session to reach a $1 trillion market cap for the first time.

Nearly 30% S&P 500 companied have reported earnings and more than 80% of them beat Wall Street expectations, according to CNBC calculations. S&P 500 companies are expected to grow profit by about 35.6% in the third quarter.

Technology darlings Alphabet and Microsoft traded higher heading into their earnings reports after the bell Tuesday. Microsoft bulls are expecting a strong quarter for the tech giant, bolstered by its key Azure business. Analysts are expecting Alphabet earnings to come in 43% higher year over year.

Twitter, Advanced Micro Devices and Robinhood also report quarterly earnings after the bell on Tuesday.

On the data front, U.S. consumer confidence rose in October, reversing a three-month downward trend, according to the Conference Board. Its consumer confidence index climbed to a reading of 113.8, topping a Dow Jones expectation of 108 and up from 109.8 in September.