New S&P Record Thanks to Strong Business Results

On Wall Street on Monday, the S&P 500 index reached a new record level for the third consecutive day, thanks to solid quarterly business results from most companies and banks.

The Dow Jones strengthened by 1.8 points, or 0.01 percent, to 15,545 points, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.20 percent to 1,695 points, and the Nasdaq index increased by 0.36 percent to 3,600 points.

The banking sector, which has recorded growth in 10 of the last 12 days, was again among the biggest winners. Among others, UBS shares rose by more than 3 percent after the Swiss bank reported higher profits in the second quarter than expected, despite the cost of a settlement with U.S. authorities.

The technology sector also strengthened after sharply falling last week due to weaker-than-expected business results from Microsoft and Google. After dropping more than 11 percent on Friday, Microsoft’s price rose about 2 percent yesterday.

Thanks to rising commodity prices, the mining sector also found itself among the five of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 index that recorded growth yesterday.

However, the price of McDonald’s shares fell significantly by 2.7 percent as the world’s largest restaurant chain reported weaker business results in the second quarter than expected due to a decline in sales in Europe.

Although the quarterly business results of companies are not impressive, analysts expect the market to continue to grow as there are no negative economic news.

“The results of most companies are not great, but they are good. Therefore, I think investors will assess that stocks are currently a better investment than others. However, since there are no truly stellar macroeconomic figures, I do not expect a significant market jump,” says Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management.

Despite the rise in stock prices, investors are cautious, as indicated by below-average trading volume. On Wall Street, NYSE MKT, and Nasdaq, 5.2 billion shares changed hands yesterday, while the average daily volume this year is 6.4 billion.

European markets also traded cautiously yesterday. The London FTSE index weakened by 0.11 percent to 6,623 points, while the Frankfurt DAX fell by 0.01 percent to 8,331 points. The Paris CAC, on the other hand, strengthened by 0.37 percent to 3,939 points.