Stock Market Today: Wall Streets Rally Continues After Stronger Than Expected Earnings Reports

NEW YORK (AP) Stocks ticked higher on Wednesday, adding to the strong run that pulled Wall Street to its highest level in more than 15 months.

The S&P 500 was up 0.4% in early trading, coming off its highest closing since early April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 187 points, or 0.5%, to 33,139, at 9:55 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.2%.

Elevance Health helped lead the market after rising 7.5%. The insurance company reported higher earnings and sales for the spring than analysts had expected, while raising its full-year profit forecast.

Equities were also generally boosted by easing pressure from the bond market, where yields fell after a report showed British inflation cooled by more than expected. It fell to 7.9% in June, a 15-month low.

The data from the UK follows encouraging US reports that have raised hopes that inflation will moderate enough to convince the Federal Reserve to halt rate hikes soon. That could enable the economy to avoid a long-predicted recession.

The pressure of high interest rates has already contributed to the collapse of several US banks, which saw customers suddenly flee en masse. Other smaller and medium-sized banks have since been scrutinized by investors and are beginning to report their results for the spring.

Western Alliance Bancorp bounced back from an early loss to a gain of 2.8% after weaker earnings for the last quarter than analysts had expected. It also said customers added $3.5 billion in deposits from April to June.

US Bancorp rose 0.7% after weaker-than-expected earnings but slightly higher revenue. Goldman Sachs added 0.3%, falling short of last-quarter profit expectations but beating revenue forecasts.

One of Wall Street’s biggest gainers was Carvana, which was up 35.1%. The used car dealer agreed with its lenders to reduce its debt by $1.2 billion. It also reported a milder net loss for the last quarter than analysts had expected.

The earnings reporting season is gaining momentum in its second week and expectations are generally low. Analysts are predicting a third consecutive quarter of earnings-per-share declines for S&P 500 companies, but that low bar also makes it easier for companies to meet expectations.

Trucking company JB Hunt Transport Services reported a drop in earnings per share for the last quarter, which was worse than analysts had expected. But the stock nevertheless rose 2.6%. Analysts pointed out that the company revealed some encouraging trends, moving closer to a potential return to growth.

On foreign exchanges, the FTSE 100 rose 2% in London on the back of encouraging inflation data there.

Elsewhere in Europe and across Asia, equities were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3%, partly due to property stock sales following a troubled developer China Evergrande reported that total debt has risen to about $340 billion over the past two years.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell from 3.79% at the end of Tuesday to 3.74%. It helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans.