U.S. Stocks Up In Positive Territory, Set To End On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks are up firmly in positive territory Tuesday afternoon and look well on course to end the day's session on a firm note.

Investors, looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due on Wednesday, are digesting a slew of economic data and corporate earnings updates.

Data showing a drop in labor costs has reinforced the view that the central bank will likely slow the pace of its monetary policy tightening and raise interest rate by 25 basis points.

The central bank's accompanying statement will be in focus for clues about further interest rate hikes.

The major averages are all up with notable gains. The Dow is up 213.19 points or 0.63 percent at 33,930.28. The S&P 500 is at 4,055.45, gaining 37.69 points or 0.94 percent, while the Nasdaq is up 141.18 points or 1.25 percent at 11,534.99.

Shares of General Motors are gaining more than 8 percent after the company reported a 14.8 percent in surge in fourth-quarter net profit.

Caterpillar shares are lower by more than 3 percent after the company reported a 29 percent drop in fourth quarter net profit at $1.45 billion, down from $2.12 billion in the year-ago quarter.

McDonald is notably lower, weighed down by an announcement from the company that inflation could weigh on its margins this year. McDonald said its fourth quarter earnings totaled $1.90 billion, or $2.59 per share, compared with $1.64 billion, or $2.18 per share, in last year's fourth quarter.

Pfizer is gaining marginally, recovering from a weak start. The company said its net income in the fourth quarter totaled $5.00 billion, up 47 percent from $3.39 billion a year ago. Earnings per share grew 48 percent to $0.87 from $0.59 last year.

Meanwhile, the company projects sharply lower adjusted earnings and revenues in its fiscal 2023, below Wall Street estimates, reflecting projected decline for COVID-19 products.

On the economic front, data from the Labor Department showed employment cost index wages in the U.S. increased by 1% on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2022, after rising 1.3% in the previous quarter.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index in the United States decreased 0.8% month-over-month in November of 2022, the same as in October and marking a fifth consecutive decline.

A report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said the Chicago PMI in the United States fell back to 44.3 points in January of 2023 from 44.9 in December and compared to market forecasts of 45. The reading pointed to a fifth consecutive month of contraction in business activity in the Chicago region.

Meanwhile, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index came in with a score of 107.1 in January, after coming in at a revised 109.0 a month earlier.