The markets enjoyed yet another positive day as earnings reports helped support the financial sector. The Dow 30 was up 144, the S&P 500 added 11, while the Nasdaq 100 popped 28. As we move to the end of the week, the focus will continue to be on earnings from the large banking stocks.
The financial sector (XLF ) saw a nice gain today , up 0.94% as JPMorgan Chase (JPM ) reported better than expected earnings results. The global investment bank shot up 1.87% today after reporting above-consensus quarterly results. This good news sent other names like Wells Fargo (WFC ) and Citigroup (C ) higher with respective gains of 1.52% and 2.58% ahead of tomorrow morning's quarterly reports from the both of them.
Yum! Brands (YUM ) gapped higher and finished strong (2.95%) after reporting a bottom-line beat in their earnings report. After yesterday's close the company also raised its full-year operating growth forecast, projecting a 14.0% increase. This was increased from prior guidance of 12.0%. This news sent the bulls chasing the stock to 2016 highs.
Delta Air Lines (DAL ) shot up by 3.59% today after the company's earnings report showed them beating bottom-line estimates on in-line revenue. The airline also announced that it would be cutting capacity on routes between the United States and the United Kingdom. This news sent the sector as a whole into the green to close the day.
Lastly, Cree (CREE ) saw a nice 10.61% rally% after announcing the sale of its Wolfspeed Power & RF divisions to Infineon Technologies (IFNNY ) for $850 million in cash. CREE also projected that fourth quarter revenue would fall in the upper end of its target range. The news briefly pushed CREE into positive territory on the year, but shares finished just below.
