By Dan Strumpf And Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stocks crept higher Tuesday, as investors eyed
first-quarter earnings reports from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and
others.
J.P. Morgan posted the biggest gains in the Dow Jones Industrial
Average, which rose 43 points, or 0.2%, to 18024 in early
trading.
The S&P 500 rose four points, or 0.2%, to 2096. The Nasdaq
Composite Index gained six points, or 0.1%, to 4994.
J.P. Morgan said its first-quarter profit rose 12%, boosted by
strong results in its trading business. Shares gained 2.3%,
contributing 10 points to the Dow's rise.
Elsewhere, results were mixed. Wells Fargo & Co. posted a
rare quarterly earnings decline as the bank faced pressure on its
lending margins. Shares fell 1.1%.
Johnson & Johnson said first-quarter profit fell 8.6%, and
it reduced its 2015 per-share earnings outlook amid increased
pressure from a strong U.S. dollar and weaker sales of hepatitis C
drug Olysio. But results exceeded expectations, and shares rose
0.9%.
Investors' focus has shifted to first-quarter earnings this
week, which brings a flurry of results from the financial sector.
Broadly, money managers are bracing for a weak earnings period,
with companies pinched by the stronger dollar and lower oil prices.
S&P 500 companies are expected to post a 4.9% fall in
first-quarter earnings from a year ago, according to FactSet.
"You really can't ignore the impact of the significantly
stronger dollar on earnings, especially for multinationals," said
Monica DiCenso, U.S. head of equity strategy at J.P. Morgan Private
Bank. "And we haven't seen energy prices rebound. The impact on
[the] energy sector, as well as industrials, is going to be pretty
meaningful," she added.
Ms. DiCenso said she recently cut earnings expectations for the
year, now expecting 4% to 5% earnings growth for the S&P
500.
Stocks fell Monday in the second-slowest trading day of the
year. The Dow slipped 0.4% to 17977.04 and the S&P lost 0.5% to
2092.43. The Nasdaq fell 0.15% to 4988.25.
In economic news, U.S. retail sales rose 0.9% in March to $441.4
billion, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was the biggest
monthly gain in a year, but was weaker than the 1.1% increase
expected by economists.
A gauge of U.S. business prices rose in March for the first time
since October. The Labor Department said Tuesday the producer-price
index gained 0.2% last month from February, in line with
expectations.
European stocks were mostly lower. France's CAC 40 fell 0.7% and
Germany's DAX declined 0.7%.
In commodity markets, gold futures declined 0.3% to $1195.70 an
ounce. Crude-oil futures gained 1.7% to $52.74 a barrel.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.873% from
1.938% on Monday. Yields fall as prices rise.
Write to Dan Strumpf at daniel.strumpf@wsj.com and Saumya
Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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