Wall Street closes higher on the back of upbeat earnings figures

Pepsi Co.'s rally lifts consumer staples sector.
Energy sector stays strong as crude oil's correction fails to deepen.
Positive data from the U.S. support today's action in the stock markets.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Major equity indexes in the United States opened the day slightly higher and were able to preserve their gains to close in the positive territory.

Pepsi Co.'s better-than-expected earnings results led the company's shares to the biggest daily advance since 2011 with a gain of 4%. Boosted by Pepsi, the S&P 500 Consumer Staples Sector (SPLRCS) ended 1.26% higher to become the best performing sector of the day.

"I believe investors have been put through an emotional roller coaster with the trade situation with China. If the market can see solid second-quarter earnings come through, that's going to diminish the concern of tariff and trade wars," Andre Bakhos, managing director at New Vines Capital LLC in Bernardsville, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, amid a lack of fresh catalysts, crude oil prices continue to fluctuate near their recent highs and help the S&P 500 Energy Sector (SPNY) extend its rally. The barrel of West Texas Intermediate settled near $74 to stay flat for the day and the SPNY added 0.75%.

On the other hand, trade tensions seem to be staying in the back investors' mind with the risk-sensitive technology sector struggling to gain traction. Moreover, despite the modest upsurge witnessed today, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, only eased 0.55%, suggesting that the risk-on mood wasn't dominating the markets.

On Friday, three major financial institutions, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup, are scheduled to release their earnings figures on Friday.

At the end of the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 140.05 points, or 0.57%, at 24,916.64. The S&P 500 added 9.44 points, or 0.34%, to 2,793.61 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained an insignificant 3.34 points, or 0.04%, to 7,759.54.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

USD/JPY eyes August swing low, near 155.20 ahead of US NFP

USD/JPY retests the August monthly swing low during the Asian session on Friday as a more hawkish repricing of BoJ rate-hike bets and a suspected intervention continue to underpin the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar is seen consolidating the previous day's heavy losses amid soft US bond yields, further weighing on the currency pair as traders keenly await the US NFP report.

AUD/USD consolidates above 0.7200; US NFP awaited

AUD/USD holds steady above 0.7200, near its highest level since mid-May, as bulls await the US NFP report for more cues on the Fed's policy path before placing fresh bets. Meanwhile, the recent decline in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar depressed near its lowest level in over a week and acts as a tailwind for the Aussie amid the RBA's hawkish tilt.

Gold tumbles as blockbuster US NFP lift US Dollar, Treasury yields

Gold (XAU/USD) falls sharply on Friday, snapping a two-day recovery after the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report surprised strongly to the upside. The metal briefly climbed above $4,500 on Thursday, gaining nearly 2%, but has since erased a large part of that advance.

Crypto’s $638 million buyback boom may not be as bullish as it looks

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols reportedly spent $638 million to buy back their native tokens in August, up 17% from a year earlier. On the surface, the buyback trend suggests the cryptocurrency industry is maturing fast, adopting one of Wall Street’s oldest tools to bolster valuations and distribute revenue. The headline becomes less impressive once the number is opened up.

Why hawkish Bank of Japan expectations aren't enough to sustain the Japanese Yen rally

The Japanese Yen (JPY) experienced a sudden burst higher after falling back below the 160.00 psychological mark against the US Dollar (USD) earlier this week amid a more hawkish repricing of Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike expectations.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.