World shares inched higher yesterday, with Wall Street advancing as technology shares rebounded from declines in the prior session, while commodity prices were muted for a second straight session.
In the US equity market, tech shares led the advance, including IBM, which surged 2.3 per cent to $167.62 after Barclays upgraded the stock two notches to “overweight” ahead of its quarterly results today. The S&P technology sector gained 0.61 per cent.
Gains were capped, however, by a dip in financial shares, off 0.23 per cent. Goldman Sachs lost 2.96 per cent and Bank of America fell 2.72 after their quarterly results included charges related to the new federal tax law.
“It’s very confusing to look at earnings right now because of the tax change charges,” said Rick Meckler, president of hedge fund LibertyView Capital Management LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey.
US corporate earnings are expected to be solid, with growth for the quarter is forecast at 11.9 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 112.77 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 25,905.63, the S&P 500 gained 8.5 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 2,784.92 and the Nasdaq Composite added 22.68 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 7,246.36.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.24 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.11 per cent.
Equities in Europe were lower, as declines in luxury fashion brand Burberry and educational publishing company Pearson weighed, following sales and earnings updates.
The US dollar was higher versus a basket of currencies in the wake of as stronger-than-forecast data on domestic industrial output in December that supported the notion of a steady US economic expansion.
The dollar index rose 0.23 per cent, with the euro down 0.16 per cent to $1.2239.
The higher dollar helped keep commodity prices subdued, as oil prices remained below the $70 a barrel mark hit last week but remained underpinned by tightening supply and strong global demand, while metals such as copper and nickel fell.
US crude rose 0.11 per cent to $63.80 per barrel and Brent was last at $69.24, up 0.13 per cent on the day.