US stocks continued to rise on Wednesday after Intel and JPMorgan Chase posted strong profits and as traders increasingly expected authorities to step in to boost the economy.
New York-based bank JPMorgan reported shortly before trading opened that its third-quarter profit rose 23 per cent from last year to $US4.4 billion.
Computer chip giant Intel reported after the market close yesterday a quarterly net profit of nearly $US3 billion and record revenue of more than $US11 billion.
Both firms' financial results beat most analysts' forecasts.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 75.68 points (0.69 per cent) to 11,096.08 points, and the broader S&P 500 index was up 8.33 points (0.71 per cent) at 1178.10 points.
The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index gained 23.31 points (0.96 per cent) to 2441.23 as computer maker Apple saw its shares rise for above 300 dollars for the first time ahead of its earnings report next week.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
Railroad operator CSX also reported strong third quarter earnings as it shipped more vehicles in the United States, with revenues rising 16 per cent from last year to $US2.7 billion.
"These three big firms are good barometers for three major sectors; transportation, finance and technology," said analyst Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert New York.
The solid earnings reports from the bellwethers may nevertheless delay any action by the central bank to ease monetary policy - known as QE2 - said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.
"The stock market was heartened yesterday by the (Fed) minutes, which reassured participants that QE2 seemed to be the likely default scenario for Fed officials," the analyst said in a note to clients.
"A string of good earnings news and some uplifting economic data, though, could be just the thing that keeps QE2 from being all the market thinks it will be on November 3 when the next... meeting is held."
"This is a risk that is probably not being fully appreciated at the moment," he said.
Despite their robust earnings, Intel's shares slumped 2.68 per cent while JPMorgan Chase stocks dipped 1.39 per cent.
The bond market was lower as investors felt more confident in the stock market.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 2.43 per cent from 2.42 yesterday, while that on the 30-year bond climbed to 3.83 per cent from 3.79 per cent. Bond yield and prices move in opposite directions.
US stocks surgeO’Charley’s stock plummets
