S&P 500 Defies Chaos: 87% of Firms Crush Forecasts Despite Trump-Fed Feud
Wall Street shrugs off political drama as corporate America delivers knockout earnings.
Who needs monetary policy harmony when profits are punching 87% above expectations? The S&P 500's heavyweight roster just delivered a masterclass in tuning out noise—from marble corridors to marble floors.
Meanwhile in Washington... Former President Trump's latest Fed broadside gets drowned out by earnings season's cash register symphony. Some things never change—politicians fight, markets find a way.
Bonus jab: If this is what 'uncertainty' looks like, maybe we should cancel the word entirely and just print more earnings reports.
87% of S&P 500 companies beat estimates
The wider earnings season has started on a strong note. So far, over 45 members of the S&P 500 have released results, and 87% of them have reported earnings above analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet.
Wednesday’s gains on Wall Street came after the president pushed back on reports that he planned to remove Powell from his Fed post.
Stocks initially tumbled when a White House official suggested that TRUMP “likely will soon” dismiss the Fed chair. The Dow fell over 260 points at its lowest level. The New York Times said Trump even wrote a letter asking Powell to resign and planned to show it to House Republicans.
Stocks bounced back after Trump said he was “not planning on doing it,” but added he might still consider it.
Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, told CNBC that the market’s rebound suggests investors may have shrugged off the possibility of Powell’s ouster. “The only real piece of information, I WOULD argue, that you got today is that firing Powell is not that big of a deal,” he said.
Green added that in the near term, the key driver for stock moves will likely be future earnings reports. He said he expects major technology firms to deliver “relatively positive” results. “Overall, that would suggest that the markets are going to experience some relief associated with earnings season not being as bad as people think,” he noted.
PepsiCo’s stock ROSE just over 1% after the company reported second‑quarter earnings of $2.12 per share on $22.73 billion in sales. Analysts expected $2.03 a share in earnings and $22.27 billion in revenue.
Asian shares rose as Nikkei and ASX 200 closed higher
In Asia-Pacific trading, markets mostly gained ground on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished flat at 24,498.95. China’s CSI 300 climbed 0.68% to 4,034.49.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.6% to close at 39,901.19, while the broader Topix index rose 0.72% to end at 2,839.81. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.19% to 3,192.29, and the smaller Kosdaq jumped 0.74% to 818.27.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.9% higher at 8,639. In India, the Nifty 50 was down 0.12% and the Sensex fell 0.25% as of 1:55 p.m. Indian Standard Time (4:25 a.m. ET).
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