US Stocks Recover Ahead of the Fed

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, rebounding from a sharp two-day slide after an early reading on earnings beat expectations.

Alcoa Inc (AA.N) was one of the S&P 500’s biggest advancers, up 5.7 percent to $15.70 a day after the U.S. aluminum producer reported adjusted second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s forecasts.

While the former Dow component is no longer considered a market-moving industry bellwether, Alcoa is sometimes viewed as setting the tone for the season because it is one of the first high-profile names to report earnings.

Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), the largest U.S. mortgage lender, will report results on Friday. The earnings reports of dozens of closely watched companies, including Dow components, will be released next week.

The S&P 500 bounced back on Wednesday after its biggest two-day slump since mid-May, with small-cap and Internet names among the biggest decliners. With Wednesday’s advance, the benchmark S&P 500 is about 0.8 percent away from a record close hit last week.

“The market was encouraged by Alcoa, especially since we were arguably oversold in the very short term,” said Steve Sosnick, equity-risk manager at Timber Hill/Interactive Brokers Group in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 45.53 points or 0.27 percent, to 16,952.15. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.61 points or 0.29 percent, to 1,969.32. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 20.53 points or 0.47 percent, to 4,411.99.

The profits of S&P 500 companies are projected to grow 6.2 percent in the second quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data, down from the forecast of 8.4 percent at the start of April. Revenue is expected to rise 3 percent.

The expected growth is “not nothing, but it is nothing to get too excited about,” Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Boston, wrote in a note to clients.

via Reuters

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