US stocks rose Wednesday after the Treasury Department announced a move that could ease pressure coming from the bond market. Strong profit reports for the spring from Estee Lauder, Target, and other companies also helped support Wall Street.
- The Dow rose 119.65 points, or 0.2%, to 53,463.05.
- The S&P 500 rose 16.22 points, or 0.2%, to 7,707.98.
- The Nasdaq rose 41.38 points, or 0.2%, to 26,331.09.
Financial markets have come under growing strain as Treasury yields charged higher through the summer on worries about inflation, government debt, and other factors, the AP reports. That makes borrowing money more expensive for everyone, which slows the economy and undercuts prices for stocks and other investments. But Treasury yields fell in the morning after Treasury said it will at least double the size of its planned purchases of longer-term Treasurys from Sept. 9 through Nov. 4. In trading, Moderna and Merck helped lead the stock market after they announced encouraging initial results from a study of a cancer vaccine they co-developed. Moderna soared 177%, while Merck jumped 12.6%.
The continuing parade of companies reporting bigger profits for the spring than analysts expected, meanwhile, continues to support stocks. Estee Lauder rallied 16.3% after saying a key measure of its revenue growth accelerated for a fourth straight quarter. It reported growth in revenue around the world, with the strongest in mainland China. The skin care company reported earnings per share of 39 cents, after excluding some restructuring and other one-time expenses. That's up from just 9 cents a year earlier and was better than the 32 cents that analysts expected, according to FactSet. Target rose 4.3%, Lowe's added 2% and homebuilder Toll Brothers climbed 4% after they all reported better profits for the latest quarter than expected. They helped offset drops for some Big Tech stocks, which restrained the overall market. Broadcom fell 4.6% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500.
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