Wall St rallies on tech strength, earnings optimism

By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street stocks moved sharply higher on Monday with technology shares providing much of the upside muscle, as generally upbeat quarterly earnings results helped revive investor risk appetite. A broad, tech-led rally sent all three major U.S. stock indexes resolutely higher, putting the Nasdaq out front. But small caps outperformed, with the Russell 2000 jumping 1.9%. Apple stock touched a record high, while Meta, Netflix and Alphabet gained between 1.2% and 3.9%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index touched a record high and was last up 1.8%. Micron shares rose 2.2% and hit a record high after Barclays raised its price target on the stock. ON Semiconductor and KLA added 5.6% and 3.9%, respectively. Third quarter earnings season has shifted into high gear. Notable results this week include Tesla, Netflix, IBM, Intel, GM and Ford, along with a slate of other high-profile industrial firms, including aerospace, transports and diversified manufacturers. Upcoming U.S. regional bank results are expected to provide a closer read of the sector on the heels of last week's selloff, which was driven by fears of systemic credit stress. Analysts currently expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth, on aggregate, of 9.3% year-on-year, marking an improvement over their 8.8% growth estimate as of October 1. "A lot of the uncertainty that the businesses were concerned about tax legislation, the tariffs, earlier this year has subsided for the time being, and that's allowed companies to focus on earnings and profitability," said Matthew Keator, managing partner in the Keator Group, a wealth management firm in Lenox, Massachusetts. Sentiment was given an extra boost by White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett, who said the federal government shut down, now entering day 20, is likely to end this week. "Hope springs eternal," Keator added. "The shutdown is getting long in the tooth; I think it's starting to wear on some of the constituents and hopefully Congress can come up with some sort of compromise to settle it, so we can move on to corporate earnings season." With the federal government shutdown entering day 20, investors and policymakers alike have had to feel their way forward amid the resulting data blackout. But on Friday the Labor Department will make an exception by releasing its September consumer price index (CPI), which will provide the data dependent U.S. Federal Reserve with a glimpse at the state of inflation and perhaps an indication regarding the extent to which President Donald Trump's tariffs are affecting price growth. In the ongoing trade skirmish between Washington and Beijing, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested easing tariffs on China if Beijing resumes key agricultural purchases including soybeans. Trump blamed the latest showdown on China's rare earth export controls. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 554.28 points, or 1.20%, to 46,745.63, the S&P 500 gained 78.61 points, or 1.19%, to 6,743.00 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 343.37 points, or 1.52%, to 23,023.62. Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 technology and communication services enjoyed the largest percentage gains, while consumer staples were the sole losers. Among other stock moves, Boeing advanced 1.9% after the planemaker won approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to raise 737 MAX production to 42 planes per month. WeightWatchers surged 9.6% after the company announced it would partner with Amazon for weight-loss drug delivery. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.52-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 258 new highs and 40 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 3,584 stocks rose and 1,003 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.57-to-1 ratio.  The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 71 new highs and 59 new lows. (Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)

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