Wall Street higher on earnings hopes, oil drops on growth fears By Reuters

By Pete Schroeder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An optimistic earnings outlook helped push Wall Street higher on Tuesday, while concerns over global economic growth weighed on oil and boosted bond yields.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way for gains in U.S. markets, shaking off lower trading in Europe. With many corporations beginning to report stronger than expected earnings, investors were hopeful it could be easier to weather any economic slowdown from higher rates and geopolitical turmoil.

The jumped 1.81% around midday, while the was up 1.17% and the gained 1.27%.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 nations, was up 0.57%.

The surge came even as global economic bodies began to air warnings on economic growth. Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund slashed their global economic outlooks for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, citing turmoil emanating from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the pitched battle against inflation worldwide.

Heineken (OTC:), Nestle and Renault (EPA:) report out of Europe this week. Netflix (NASDAQ:), Tesla (NASDAQ:) and Verizon (NYSE:) are among companies scheduled to report this week from the United States.

Of the 49 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported quarterly earnings so far, nearly 80% have topped profit estimates, per Refinitiv data.

The current battle by central banks worldwide to curb inflation continued to boost bond markets, where U.S. Treasury yields continued to move upward.

(Graphic: US dividend yield vs UST, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/zjvqkmqgmvx/US%20dividend%20yield%20vs%20UST.JPG)

The Federal Reserve looks all but certain to raise its interest rate by 50 basis points when it meets next month and a 75 basis point hike has not been ruled out as Fed officials work to curtail inflation.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard repeated his case for raising rates to 3.5% by the year-end on Monday, adding a 75 basis point hike should not be discounted, although this was not his base case.

“There is growing speculation the Federal Reserve will look to ramp up the rate it is tightening its monetary policy,” said David Madden, market analyst at Equiti Capital. “US bond yields are moving higher at a fast rate.”

The benchmark was last at 2.9051%, down slightly after hitting its highest levels in three years.

The rose above 101 for the first time since March 2020, as the greenback hit a 20-year high against the yen and tested a two-year peak on the euro. The index was last up 0.1% to 100.88.

Growth concerns weighed on oil markets Tuesday, reversing recent gains in the commodity amid some concerns about global supply.

was last down 4.87% at $107.65 a barrel, while was last down 4.91% at $102.9 per barrel.

Gold prices were lower after coming close to reaching $2,000 an ounce during Monday’s session. was last at $1,955.22 an ounce, down 1.17% on the day.

(Graphic: Inflation, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xmvjoygxxpr/Global%20markets.PNG)