US open: Stocks push higher as Palantir fuels tech-led gains

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the green at the open on Tuesday following a strong rally in the previous session, fuelled by a strong performance from tech giant Palantir overnight.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.01% at 53,713.52, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.76% to 7,658.54 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 1.27% firmer at 26,242.16.

The Dow opened 535.11 points higiher on Tuesday, extending solid gains recorded in the previous session as renewed hopes of a de-escalation in the Middle East sent oil prices firmly lower.

Earnings from Palantir were in focus at Tuesday's open after the firm lifted its fullyear guidance following strong US demand, with the company forecasting at least $8.15bn in revenues and $3.4bn from its US commercial division - both ahead of which were ahead of expectations. Palantir also posted betterthanexpected Q2 earnings, as US sales jumped 23% to $1.57bn, helping net income rise to $1.06bn.

Caterpillar jumped early action after it delivered a strong Q2 beat, posting $8.17 adjusted earnings per share on $20.54bn revenue versus expectations for $6.20 and $19.34bn, respectively, while Merck also rose at the opening bell as Q2 results topped forecasts, with a smallerthanexpected adjusted loss and higherthananticipated revenue. The pharma group also hiked uts fullyear sales guidance.

Pfizer beat Q2 expectations and lifted the lower end of its revenue outlook on stronger nonCovid demand, reporting $15.03bn in sales and $0.77 adjusted EPS, while Spotify announced it had hit 300m premium subscribers and delivered a sharp swing to profit, with revenues up 14% and gross margins reaching a record 33.4%, though monthly active users came in slightly below guidance, and McDonald's posted mixed Q2 results as US samestore sales growth slowed, with net income rising to $2.36bn and revenue up 4% to $7.1bn, while global comparable sales increased 1.3%.

Still to come, SpaceX, AMD and Booking Holdings will publish their latest quarterly figures after the close.

Treasury yields were also drawing an amount of investor attention at the start of trading, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note down a little more than three and a half basis points at 4.643%.

On the macro front, the US trade deficit narrowed in June as both exports and imports declined, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, with the goods shortfall easing and the services surplus improving. Exports slipped $2.9bn on the month to $314.7bn, while imports fell $7.3bn to $388bn, pulling the overall goods and services deficit down to $73.3bn. The goods deficit narrowed $3.9bn to $102.1bn, and the services surplus edged up to $28.8bn. Yeartodate, the deficit has shrunk 33.8%, helped by an 11.7% rise in exports, while imports are up just 0.4%. The threemonth moving average deficit, however, widened to $68.5bn, with average imports rising and average exports slipping.

On another note, US job openings were little changed in June, holding at 7.4m, while hires and separations also remained broadly steady, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest JOLTS report. Hires were unchanged at 5.3m, and total separations held at 5.4m, with quits at 3.2m and layoffs and discharges at 1.8m. Openings rose in transportation, warehousing and utilities and in the federal government, but fell across wholesale trade, non-durable manufacturing and mining. May's figures were revised, with job openings trimmed to 7.5m, hires revised up to 5.3m, and separations lifted to 5.3m, including upward adjustments to quits and layoffs.

Finally, US factory orders dipped again in June, marking a second monthly decline, according to the Census Bureau, with softer shipments partly offset by continued strength in unfilled orders and inventories. New orders edged 0.3% lower to $656.5bn after a 1.1% fall in May, while shipments slipped 0.2% to $652.1bn following six straight monthly increases.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $96.86 13.03%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $885.71 9.08%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $120.64 6.35%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $1,048.70 1.91%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $358.20 1.36%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $268.75 1.16%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $129.58 0.90%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $227.49 0.65%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $489.64 0.55%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $187.16 0.40%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $188.33 -3.02%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $41.81 -2.44%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $29.18 -2.21%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.37 -1.90%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $407.82 -1.75%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $382.48 -1.65%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $85.82 -1.35%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $253.21 -1.03%

Visa Inc. (V) $363.34 -0.85%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $305.24 -0.80%

S&P 500 - Risers

Gartner Inc. (IT) $174.40 13.53%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $96.86 13.03%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $873.06 12.60%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $310.06 11.30%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $508.60 11.26%

Broadridge Fin Sol (BR) $175.91 10.66%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $543.31 9.77%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $885.71 9.08%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $191.73 8.88%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $408.85 8.58%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Aptiv PLC (APTV) $48.02 -15.23%

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) $41.47 -8.75%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) $445.60 -7.15%

W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) $1,295.71 -6.63%

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (ARE) $50.19 -6.35%

Cummins Inc. (CMI) $608.41 -5.62%

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $53.70 -5.55%

Hasbro Inc (HAS) $90.14 -5.33%

NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $129.23 -5.08%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $96.86 13.03%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $873.06 11.69%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $310.06 11.30%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $543.31 9.77%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $191.73 9.27%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $408.85 8.58%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $157.84 8.12%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,703.47 7.29%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $856.52 7.05%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $78.52 6.98%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $53.70 -5.84%

Hasbro Inc (HAS) $90.14 -5.33%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $102.64 -4.70%

Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $343.09 -4.07%

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $92.82 -3.87%

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $234.79 -3.61%

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $61.09 -3.54%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $191.14 -3.42%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $127.43 -3.12%