Stock Market Today: Dow closes higher amid better-than-expected corporate earnings

Investing.com -- The Dow closed higher Tuesday as a slew of better-than-expected corporate earnings and steady Treasury yields lifted sentiment on the stocks ahead of the big tech earnings.  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% or 204 points, and the Nasdaq rose 0.9%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.7%.

Tech adds to gains as Microsoft and Alphabet set for earnings stage

Technology stocks added to gains from a day earlier as investors looked ahead to quarterly results from Microsoft and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) due after the market closes.

For Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), the focus will likely be on the growth of its cloud segment Azure at a time when the proliferation of artificial intelligence is expected to ease the drag from still-modest enterprise spending.

“We expect Microsoft to continue to communicate optimizations are ongoing and new workloads remain modest as IT budgets stay tight, resulting in prudence around core Azure growth for F2Q24,” RBC said in a Tuesday note.

Google, meanwhile, is “well positioned” heading into earnings, Wedbush says, supported by ongoing digital advertising growth in 3Q and 4Q.

Treasury yields steady after recent selloff

Treasury yields steadied after a selloff a day earlier, but the move lower doesn’t appear to be a “fundamental shift in investors’ sentiment of policy or the underlying economy, but rather a number of larger players shifting positions,” Stifel said in a note.

Treasury yields sold off sharply on Monday, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury retreating after famed investor Bill Ackman announced that he had closed his bet on lower bond prices, citing “too much risk.”

The Federal Open Market Committee two- day meeting gets underway on Oct. 31, and is expected to culminate in unchanged decision next month.

Bitcoin continues to ride ETF optimism

Bitcoin (BitfinexUSD) jumped more than 7% briefly rising above $35,000 for the first since time since 2022 amid ongoing optimism that a spot-bitcoin ETF may soon be approved.

The surge in bitcoin lifted other cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum and Solana sharply higher.

Coca-Cola, GE and 3M lift guidance after delivering quarterly earnings beat

Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) closed nearly 3% higher as the beverage giant upgraded its annual guidance after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, underpinned by price hikes.

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) also raised its guidance on full-year performance following earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates. The conglomerate also said it was targeting a planned spinoff of its renewable energy business, GE Vernova, in Q2 next year,

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) sidestepped its recent legal troubles to deliver a Q3 report that topped analyst estimates, sending its share price more than 5% higher.