· Stocks rose on Thursday as sentiment was boosted by strong earnings from Walmart and Cisco Systems while banks climbed on higher rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 214.66 points higher at 25,862.68, led by Walmart and Cisco. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% to close at 2,876.32 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1% to 7,898.05. The major indexes also closed higher for the third straight day.
Walmart shares rose 1.4% after the retailer posted first-quarter earnings for fiscal 2020 that topped analyst expectations. The company said it is in a “good position ” to meet its goals for 2019 despite tough comparisons for the second quarter.
Cisco Systems also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, sending its stock up 6.7%. The company issued stronger-than-forecast revenue guidance as well.
· European stocks traded higher Thursday as markets recovered from an early rattle caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed targeting of Chinese tech firm Huawei. The pan-European STOXX 600 hit a day high just around the close of trade.
The STOXX 600 closed provisionally up by around 1.2%, Chemicals leading the gains with a 2.54% climb, while autos struggled to make headway, slipping 0.6%.
· Shares in Asia were higher in Friday morning trade following overnight gains on Wall Street as investors stateside cheered strong earnings and economic data.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan added 0.71% in early trade, while the Topix index rose 0.57% as most sectors gained. Shares of Sony surged more than 7% after the company announced a $1.83 billion share buyback.
In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.3%. Australia’s ASX 200 also added 0.85%.
Reference: CNBC
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