U.S. stocks were poised to rise Wednesday after China issued a stronger-than-expected report on its first-quarter economic growth.
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The Chinese data indicated gross domestic product growth held steady at 6.4 percent in the first quarter as manufacturing picked up significantly amid signs authorities worked forcefully to stabilize business.
Wall Street was also buoyed by Morgan Stanley’s first-quarter report, which topped analyst expectations.
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“We delivered solid earnings despite a slow start to the year following the turbulent markets in the fourth quarter. With an ROE of 13.1 percent and ROTCE of 14.9 percent, our results demonstrated the stability and breadth of our global franchise,” CEO James Gorman said in a statement. “Even though risks to the global environment remain, markets have recovered and we are well positioned to serve our clients and invest in our businesses.”
A number of Wall Street analysts upgraded their ratings on Qualcomm stock and boosted their price target for the shares after the chipmaker settled its long-running royalty fight with Apple.
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As part of the agreement, Qualcomm will receive a payment from Apple, the pair of companies said, sending shares of the chipmaker rocketing more than 23 percent higher shortly after the announcement.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | %Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 26452.66 | +67.89 | +0.26% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 2907.06 | +1.48 | +0.05% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 8000.225292 | +24.21 | +0.30% |
After the market closed Monay, Netflix reported that earnings grew by double-digit percentage points in the first quarter of 2019, but shares dropped in after-hours trading on Wall Street as the streaming giant forecasted a weaker second quarter and the pace of new U.S. subscribers slowed.
Netflix is under pressure as a slew of new streaming video sites seek to challenge the company’s dominance in the industry, also putting more importance on growth outside of the U.S.
Crude oil prices have risen the last two days and are hovering at a 5 ½-month high after economic growth in China. A surprise drop in oil inventories reported late Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute is also supporting prices. Meantime output cuts by OPEC, Russia and others, plus U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran continue to tighten supplies.
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China’s Shanghai Composite closed up 0.29 percent, the Hang Seng was off 0.02 percent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.25 percent.
Britain’s FTSE 100 was off 0.11 percent, France’s CAC 40 added 0.27 percent and Germany’s DAX gained 0.29 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
