US stocks end higher
Apple about to report
Two day Fed policy meet starts today
US crude plummets
US shares ended positively as traders look to more earnings and an interest rate decision from the Fed.
The Dow Jones closed up 36 at 20,949. The Nasdaq gained 3.76% to 6,095.
The S&P500 added 2.84 at 2,391. In Toronto, the TSX finished around 44 points ahead at 15619.
Among the losers was pharma giant Pfizer inc (NYSE:PFE), down 0.5% to $33.61 as revenue fell 2% in the last three months to $12.78 billion, not least due to an 8% drop in global sales of top-selling product, the Prevnar pneumonia vaccine.
Healthcare was the best performing sector with Tenet Healthcare Corp (NYSE: THC) adding 21.56% to $18.66.
Chegg Inc (NYSE: CHGG) , the textbook rental firm, was also a notable riser, adding around 29% to $11.79 as it posted better-than-expected results for the first quarter.
US crude had a bad day, tanking 2.5% to $47.62 a barrel as it went to its lowest in more than a month on the glut in the US and Saudi Arabia saying its faring better than expected with low oil prices.
10.20am..A mixed bag at open
It was a mixed bag on Wall Street at the open.
The Dow Jones was up six at the time of writing at 20,919, the S&P500 was down 1.03 at 2,387 , while the tech heavy Nasdaq exchange was down over seven points, at 6,083.
In Toronto, the biggest Canadian benchmark was trading higher, up over 11 , at 15,587.
US crude was down 0.20% to stand at US$48.74 a barrel.
Craig Erlam, market analyst at Oanda, said earnings season in the US continues to be another key focus for investors and "this week we’ll also get the latest monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve as well as the April jobs report".
"While a rate hike at the meeting tomorrow is all but priced out, the probability of one at the meeting in June is currently just shy of the 70% level that is widely seen as the threshold for such a move. Tomorrow’s statement will therefore be very closely monitored in the absence of a press conference from Chair Janet Yellen."
On S&P500, the biggest gainer was Coach Inc (NYSE: COH), which added almost 10% to $42.48 as it posted a 5% gain in third quarter profit.
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSEAMD) was the biggest laggard, down over 17% to $11.23 a share.
US expected to hold interest rates steady at Federal Reserve meeting https://t.co/XEdTUm6SPg pic.twitter.com/wDM94SHvAm
— Manif News (@ManifNews) May 2, 2017
8.15AM ..Wall Street shares poised to start mixed
Wall Street shares are poised for a mixed start on Tuesday ahead of the start of a two day policy meet from the US central bank.
This will culminate on a decision on whether or not to raise interest rates and the general consensus is they will stand pat. Earlier this year , there were noises about a quickened pace of rises, which began last year.
But this has tailed off in the light of disappointing economic data and other factors.
On the corporate front today, tech titan Apple (NASDAQ: APPL) reports after the bell, which will be keenly watched. Shares finished almost 3% higher last night and nudged 0.37% up in pre-market.
On Monday, which was a bank holiday in the UK, stocks were fairly active stateside. The Dow Jones closed down 27 points at 20,913, while the Nasdaq and the S&P500 were in positive territory, the former up 44 points at 6,091, the latter gaining 4 to 2,388.
In futures today, the Dow Jones is lagging 16 behind, while the S&P500 futures are down 1.5 and the Nasdaq futures are almost four points.
In Europe, there is Sunday's French election second round run-off now coming into focus, as well as continuing noise over the poor relations between the UK and d the EU over Brexit.
US crude at the time of writing, is up 0.66% to stand at $49.15 a barrel.
Energy giant ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), and Coach (NYSE: COH) are two of the big names reporting ahead of the bell.
Papa John's (NYSE: PZZA) plans to release earnings after the close.