Stock indexes spent Wednesday drifting and finished with small gains. While big companies continue to report strong profit growth, investors aren’t sure how much longer…
Stock indexes spent Wednesday drifting and finished with small gains. While big companies continue to report strong profit growth, investors aren’t sure how much longer it will last.
The S&P 500 index rallied in the morning after fourth-quarter earnings from major companies including IBM, consumer products maker Procter & Gamble, and manufacturer United Technologies. Later, traders focused on some less encouraging quarterly reports and the muddled state of trade talks between the United States and China, and the S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent before it gradually turned higher.
Corporate profit growth shot higher in early 2018 after the Republican-backed corporate tax cut, but Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist for Charles Schwab, said corporate profits are now growing at a slower clip because of economic weakness in Europe and China and a steep decline in oil prices.
