Wall Street edged higher Tuesday as strong bank earnings lifted sentiment, even as renewed U.S.-China trade tensions kept investor enthusiasm in check.
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The early batch of earnings reports from Wall Street giants gave markets something to cheer about. Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) all surpassed analyst expectations.
Shares in Wells Fargo soared nearly 7%, making it the top gainer on the S&P 500, after the bank raised its full-year guidance. Citigroup followed with a 4.5% jump. BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK) also reported better-than-expected results, with shares up nearly 3%.
At a National Association for Business Economics event, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the risks to employment have increased, shifting the Fed’s balance of risk. This bolstered market confidence in a 25-basis-point interest rate cut, which investors now fully anticipate.
Powell also commented on the government shutdown, now beyond the two-week mark, warning that the Fed will begin to lack key data if the impasse continues and October releases are delayed.
Tech stocks showed mixed performance. Optimism around a de-escalation in U.S.-China trade relations quickly faded after both countries introduced new port fees targeting each other's shipments, raising the specter of renewed friction.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) dropped 3% after Bank of America cut its rating to underperform, setting a $34 price target. NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) — the two biggest chipmakers — also traded lower, down 3.19% and 2.33% respectively.
Meanwhile, small caps outperformed, with the Russell 2000 climbing over 1% to notch its best two-day gain since mid-August.
In commodity markets, gold hit a new record, rising 1% to $4,150 per ounce, while silver slipped 1% after hitting an all-time high of $53, snapping a four-day winning streak. Copper prices dropped 2% and WTI crude settled down 1.2% at $58.50 a barrel, the lowest since May.
In digital assets, selling pressure continued. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 2.5% and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) slid 3.1%.
Tuesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day %Chg |
| Russell 2000 | 2,486.30 | 1.0% |
| Dow Jones | 46,384.09 | 0.7% |
| S&P 500 | 6,671.97 | 0.3% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 24,750.35 | 0.0% |
S&P 500’s Top 5 Gainers On Tuesday
| Name | Chg % |
| Wells Fargo & Company | 7.54% |
| KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) | 5.17% |
| Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) | 5.05% |
| Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NYSE:BLDR) | 5.04% |
| Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) | 4.66% |
S&P 500’s Top 5 Losers On Tuesday
| Name | Chg % |
| Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET) | -4.21% |
| Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) | -3.61% |
| Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) | -2.91% |
| CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) | -2.88% |
| Archer-Daniels-Midland Comp.. (NYSE:ADM) | -2.73% |
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