US stocks close sharply higher
Dow Jones up 293 pts
JP Morgan, Citi and Wells Fargo report tomorrow
TSX up 11 pts
US stocks closed higher on Thursday, driven by banks and financial stocks.
The US bank earnings season kicks off tomorrow with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) scheduled to release quarterlies tomorrow. Shares rose 2.49% to US$113.37 on the day.
It is joined before the bell by Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Citigroup (NYSE:C).
JPMorgan is expected to earn US$2.28 per share on US$27.53 billion in revenue.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones added 293 points at 24,493, while the S&P500 added almost 22 points at 2,663.
The Nasdaq added over 71 points at 7,140.
In oil, US crude added 0.46% to stand at US$67.14 a barrel.
In big US bank #earnings, analysts look for gains on tax cuts and rate hikes, https://t.co/1iJfGbDhNv @SPGMarketIntel pic.twitter.com/0AMd5xXbMh
— Kevin Dobbs (@Kevin1Dobbs) 9 April 2018
In Toronto, the TSX added over 11 points to stand at 15,269.
MID-SESSION
US stocks are still higher at mid-session as traders came back to stocks despite geopolitcal tensions.
President Trump has said that an attack in Syria was not ‘imminent’, and dealers are taking this as a cue to snap up relatively cheap stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Index added nearly 318 points at 24,508, while the S&P 500 added 25.83 at 2,668.
The tech heavy Nasdaq exchange is up 77 points at 7,146 at the time of writing.
In Toronto, the TSX added over 36 points at 15,294.
Shaw Communications Inc (TSE:SJR) provided a big boost to Canada's largest market, up 7.68% to stand at C$25.91 as the telecom services company beat second-quarter profit expectations as wireless subscribers more than doubled from a year ago.
Facebook shares shed 1.17% to US$164.37 but nevertheless have generally gained this week.
Shares of Facebook are up 4.5% since Tuesday. Wall Street is pleased with the way CEO Mark #Zuckerberg handled himself. #LearnEnglish with the CNN article: Mark Zuckerberg made $3 billion while he sat for Congress' questions https://t.co/z5Bj4Zu5oa#TOEFL #TESOL #IELTS #ESL pic.twitter.com/XDAJJr1O1J
— English News (@ennewsnow) 12 April 2018
On Wall Street, a notable gainer was CYREN Ltd (NASDAQ:CYRN), which jumped over 21% to US$2.80 as the cloud-based internet security technology company revealed it had won a "material contract" with "one of the world's largest technology companies" to be used among "millions of its enterprise users."
Meanwhile, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY) sank over 19% to US$17.40 after it reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter but issued weak full year 2018 guidance.
Back to macro news, and US jobless claims dropped to 233,000 from 242,000 last week, which was only slightly ahead of the 230,000 figure economists had been expecting.
Last month, the jobless claims rate fell to its lowest level in over four decades, so the labor market in the US looks healthy and the latest Fed minutes showed that policymakers predict higher inflation and growth rates and talk of four rate hikes for 2018 is back.
OPEN
US shares started on the front foot Thursday as as geopolitical concerns eased and investors waded through corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones added 296 points at 24,486, while the S&P 500 gained 24 at 2,666.
The tech heavy Nasdaq added over 70 points at 7,139
President Donald Trump played down the timing of a US air strike on Syria in a tweet today, which helped ease concerns about an imminent attack.
Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group said: "US President Donald Trump backpedalling (via Twitter) on plans to launch an attack in Syria encouraged a rebound in sentiment.
"US equity futures jumped, European markets reversed early losses, and related or not, Cryptocurrencies soared."
Meanwhile, Bitcoin surged double digits to break back over US$8,000.
Lawler reckons the renewed interest in cryptos might relate to the need for wealthy Russians and Chinese under pressure from new sanctions and tariffs to covertly send money overseas.
"Bitcoin’s price surge could well be enough to capture the imagination of traders in what is still a very speculative market."