Amazon surges after bell
US stocks mainly close higher
TSX gains 37pts
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 index closed higher as traders awaited more earnings from tech giants and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares surged 6% after the bell after the bell
The Dow closed 71 up at 23,400,while the S&P 500 added 3.25 at 2,560.
The Nasdaq was lower, however, dropping 7.12 at 6,556.
The TSX in Toronto added 37.06 at 15,891.
Tech titan and online retail king Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) added 6.43% after hours to US$972.43 as it reported a huge beat across the board.
The e-commerce firm reported third-quarter net income of US$256 million, on sales of US$43.7 billion, up from $32.7 billion a year ago.
Amazon closed the US$13.7 billion deal to acquire Whole Foods in August this year.
MID-SESSION
US benchmarks were higher at mid-session with the Dow Jones up over 91 points to 23,421.
The S&P 500 added 5.64 to 2,563, while the Nasdaq added 1.77 at 6,565.
The oil price added 0.40% to US$52.38.
In Toronto, the TSX added over 44 points at 15,899.
It comes as the ECB said it would cut the size of its asset purchases but extend the programme until next September.
David Madden, analyst at London based CMC Markets, noted the central bank would reduce its stimulus package to €30 billion worth of bonds per month from January until the end of September 2018.
On Wall Street, traders were digesting another host of earmings reports but this time were less disappointed.
Footlocker Inc (NYSE:FL) was among top winners on the S&P 500, adding 4.25% to US$32.62.
Also, Achieve Life Sciences Inc (NYSE: ACHV) shot up over 33% to US$2.54 after the company revealed it had struck an exclusive and long-term manufacturing agreement with Sopharma for the clinical and commercial supply of cytisine.
Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD) shares added over 20% to US$122 after the firm posted better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter and raised its forecast for the full year.
OPEN
The Dow Jones made up for some losses yesterday, adding over 94 at the open, to 23,425.
The broader based S&P 500 added 3.56 at 2,560.
The Nasdaq lost over eleven points to stand at 6,551.
How the euro reacted to news that the ECB will cut asset purchases to $35 billion a month https://t.co/zQjMaFXGsx pic.twitter.com/664QeaFCvr
— Bloomberg (@business) 26 October 2017
It comes as the European Central Bank (ECB) announced plans to extend the length of its quantitative-easing measures but reduce its monthly asset purchases.
US crude shed 0.44% to stand at US$ 51.95 a barrel.
In Toronto, the TSX was up over 27 points at 15,881 in early deals.
A notable loser was Celgene Corp (NYSE:CELG), which tanked 18.06% to US$97.97
The US biotech plummeted after it slashed both near-term and longer-term guidance.
The New Jersey-headquartered group now expects diluted earnings per share to be between US$4.78 and US$5.19 in 2017, while margins are also set to come under pressure with Celgene now guiding for an operating margin of around 37.5% (from 41.5%).
Revenues in 2017 are also expected to be at the lower end of previous guidance as well at US$13bn.