Today's Stock Market Close: Healthcare, Financial Issues Lift Market In Wake Of 3Q Results

Healthcare and financial issues helped lift stocks to four-week highs Tuesday as investors turned their attention to third-quarter earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 237 points to 27,024 while the Nasdaq jumped 100 points to 8,148 and the S&P 500 added 29 points to 2,995.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange totaled nearly 2.8 billion shares with 1,888 issues advancing and 1,059 declining. One-hundred stocks hit new highs and 19 set new lows.

Leading the most actives were Bank of America (BAC) Pinterest Inc. (PINS), which fell 1.24% as early investors took advantage of their first opportunity to cash in, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

On the earnings front, Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) raised its sales and earnings forecast for the year as it reported earnings of $4.83 billion, or $1.81 a share, compared with $3.93 billion, or $1.44 a share, in the year ago quarter. Worldwide sales hit $20.73 billion, up from $20.35 billion a year ago.

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) topped profit estimates and raised its full-year outlook. UnitedHealth reported $5 billion in earnings for the quarter, or $3.88 a share, up from $4.6 billion, or $3.41 a share, a year ago, on revenue of $60.4 billion.

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) recorded its seventh straight profit gain and beat estimates, posting an 8% increase in third-quarter earnings, topping analyst expectations. The bank reported a profit of $9.08 billion or $2.68 a share, on revenue of $29.34 billion. Revenue from interest income rose 2% to $14.23 billion. .

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) disappointed investors with its earnings per share. The investment bank reported a 26% drop in earnings compared with a year ago, roughly in line with expectations. The bank is investing in new initiatives, including consumer banking and ultrafast trading. Goldman reported $1.88 billion in net earnings, or $4.79 a share, on $8.32 billion in revenue.

Wells Fargo (WFC) missed estimates, posting net income of $4.6 billion or 92 cents per share, compared with $6 billion, or $1.13 per share, in the third quarter of 2018. Revenue totaled $22 billion, up from $21.9 billion.

Citigroup (C) beat estimates, posting earnings of net income of $4.9 billion, or $2.07 per share, on revenue of $18.6 billion. That compares with earnings of 4.6 billion, or $1.73 per share, on revenue of $18.4 billion in the year ago quarter.

Elsewhere, WeWork, whose initial public offering was canceled last month, was reported readying plans to lay off 2,000 employees, 13% of its workforce.

The International Monetary Fund Tuesday predicted global growth of just 3% for 2019, its lowest level since 2008-09 in the depths of the global recession, in what it described as a “synchronized slowdown” and a serious step down from 2017’s 3.8% pace.

The forecast in the October World Economic Outlook was 0.3 of a point lower than the April forecast. The projection for 2020 also was revised downward by 0.2 point to 3.4%, largely because projected slowdowns in China and the United States will offset gains in Latin America, the Middle East and emerging and developing countries in Europe.

On global markets, stocks were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed off 0.07% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.87% and the China Shanghai Composit fell 0.56%. Australia’s S&P/ASX gained 0.14%.

The London FTSE 100 was flat, closing off 0.03% while the German DAX added 1.15% and the French CAC 40 was up 1.04%. The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 1.11%.

On currency markets, the British pound gained 1.63 cents to $1.2769 while the euro added 0.07 cent to $1.1032 The dollar index was off 0.15%.

Oil futures were mixed. Crude oil lost 166 cents to $52.93 a barrel while Brent crude was up 15 cents to to $58.89. Gold futures lost $12.80 to $1,484.90 an ounce and silver dipped 29.5 cents to $17.415.

The 10-year Treasury note lost 25/32, with the yield rising to 1.772%, and the 30-year note lost 30/32, pushing the yield up to 2.232%.