Strong Lockheed Martin Earnings Lift Defense Stocks

Indexes rose for a second day in a row
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 18, 2022 3:48 PM CDT
Strong Lockheed Martin Earnings Lift Defense Stocks
The Lockheed Martin Pike County Operations facility where Javelin anti-tank missiles are manufactured in Troy, Ala.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Stocks rose on Wall Street Tuesday, adding to weekly gains for major indexes that have been mired in a broad slump amid inflation and recession concerns. The S&P 500 rose 42.03 points, or 1.1%, to 3,719.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 337.98 points, or 1.1%, to 30,523.80. The Nasdaq rose 96.60 points, or 0.9%, to 10,772.40. The gains tempered from an earlier jump that sent almost all of the stocks in the S&P 500 higher. It was the latest knee-jerk motion in a market that has been moving erratically in recent weeks, the AP reports. Many US companies are reporting solid profits for the most recent quarter.

The latest round of corporate earnings are a big focus for investors this week. Investment bank Goldman Sachs rose 2.3% after delivering results that beat estimates, which helped lift shares in other lenders. Banks have been rallying since Friday, when several reported strong quarterly results. Lockheed Martin jumped 8.7% after reporting strong third-quarter earnings. That gave other defense stocks a boost. General Dynamics rose 3.8%, Northrop Grumman gained 6.7%, and Raytheon Technologies added 3.5%. Health care giant Johnson & Johnson slipped 0.5% after reporting solid financial results, but a narrowed forecast as it deals with a strong US dollar cutting into sales outside the US.

United Airlines jumped more than 7% in after-hours trading after it reported third-quarter earnings of $942 million, above what analysts expected. Major indexes are still stuck in a bear market, which is when they've fallen at least 20% from their most recent all-time highs. "High volatility is normal around the bottom of a bear market," says Jeff Buchbinder, equity strategist for LPL Financial. "One reason we may be seeing markets hang in there a little bit better is that the narrative has switched to earnings from inflation and the Federal Reserve." He adds: "You have to stomach some volatility in the near term, but inflation is coming down. Work by the Fed and the markets has really improved the inflation outlook from here, if you can look three to six months out."

(More stock market stories.)

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