S&P 500 closes at record high
U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday despite rising concerns over the resurgent health crisis.
The Dow gained 278 points. The S&P 500 closed at a record high. The Nasdaq rose 80 points.
The stock market is focused on earnings and as long as that continues - stocks can go higher, says DataTrek Research co-founder Nick Colas.
"So, you know, we're earning 25 percent more on the S&P than we did two years ago on just three percent revenue growth, which is fantastic. It's the kind of earnings leverage you only see in an early part of a recovery. And it's happening in a turbocharged fashion now. So we still like equities. We think we'll see some chop in August, but the earnings power really wins the day."
Under Armour appears to be getting back into tip-top shape. The athletic gear maker posted a 91 percent surge in quarterly sales and guided full-year estimates higher with customers willing to pay full price for its items. The stock jumped 7-1/2 percent.
But Alibaba missed quarterly sales estimates as China's biggest online retailer faced increase competition by other Chinese e-commerce players. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba fell more than a full percent.
After the close, ride-sharing app Lyft posted its first adjusted quarterly profit in its nine-year history. It came three months ahead of schedule thanks to a rebound in ridership and cost controls.
In other corporate news, PepsiCo is selling its Tropicana and other juice brands in North America to a French private equity firm for $3.3 billion. The sale will give PepsiCo. the cash to pivot from high-sugar drinks to focus more on healthier drink and snack options.
Shares of Pepsi finished modestly higher on the news.
And it was a tough day for cryptocurrencies. The chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, said Congress should give the SEC more authority to better police the “Wild West” of the crypto world. The price of bitcoin dropped 2-1/2 percent.
