NEW YORK, April 19 — Wall Street stocks were mostly higher early today, weighing mixed earnings and a weakening global growth outlook against bargain-hunting tendencies following recent losses.
Oil services giant Halliburton reported higher profits and offered a bullish outlook in light of tight energy supplies.
But profits and sales dipped at Lockheed Martin as the defence giant cited the drag from Covid-19 restrictions on its supply chain.
Meanwhile, the IMF slashed its 2022 global growth forecast to 3.6 per cent, 0.8 points lower than in January in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
About 35 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9 per cent at 34,723.80.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.8 per cent to 4,428.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.8 per cent to 13,437.06.
Today’s early gains follow a topsy-turvy session yesterday when stocks ended modestly lower amid worries over tightening interest rates.
Investor unease remains pronounced, but that view appears to be spurring “the recognition that investor sentiment is extremely negative, which is stirring some speculation that a contrarian rally effort could soon come to fruition,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. — AFP
