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* Boeing falls after reporting $3 bln loss
* Caterpillar slips on lower quarterly earnings
* Texas Instruments hits record on upbeat results
* Indexes end: Dow -0.29%, S&P 500 +0.47%, Nasdaq +0.85%
(Updates to close)
By Noel Randewich
July 24 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs
on Wednesday after reassuring comments from Texas Instruments
about global chip demand blunted the impact of weak earnings
reports from Boeing and Caterpillar.
Texas Instruments Inc TXN.O jumped 7.4% after the company
hinted that a global slowdown in microchip demand would not be
as long as feared, powering the Philadelphia chip .SOX index
up 3.1% to a record high. "Semiconductor investors are looking past right now and
saying that maybe in the second half of this year, economic
concerns will start to abate a little," said Willie Delwiche, an
investment strategist at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee.
However, trade-sensitive Caterpillar Inc CAT.N dropped
4.5% following disappointing earnings on weak sales in China and
higher production and restructuring costs. Boeing Co BA.N fell 3.1% after the world's largest
planemaker posted its largest-ever quarterly loss on the back of
this year's grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX after two
deadly crashes. Those two companies' bleak reports left the Dow Jones
Industrial Average in negative territory.
Two weeks into an earnings season with mute investor
expectations, about 77% of the 138 S&P 500 companies that have
reported so far have topped earnings estimates, according to
Refinitiv data.
Overall earnings per share, however, are now expected to
fall 0.1%, compared with a prior estimate of a rise of about 1%.
Wall Street has hit record levels in July on bets the
Federal Reserve will lower rates next week to counter the impact
of a protracted U.S.-China trade war on economic growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI dipped 0.29% to end
at 27,269.97 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.47% to
3,019.56.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.85% to 8,321.50. The
S&P 500 and Nasdaq each closed at their highest levels ever.
The Russell 2000 small cap index .RUT jumped 1.64% to its
highest close since early May. That suggests investors have
grown more confident in the U.S. economy, Delwiche said.
For the year, the S&P 500 is now up 20%, while the Nasdaq
has gained 25%.
In extended trade, Facebook FB.O jumped 4.3% after the
social network posted quarterly revenue above analysts average
estimates. Another bright spot on Wednesday was United Parcel Service
Inc UPS.N , up 8.7% and among the biggest gainers on the S&P
500 index, after the world's biggest package delivery company
reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.69-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.45-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 82 new highs and 94 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.2 billion shares, compared
with the 6.3 billion average for the full session over the last
20 trading days.