This week’s Wall Street rally continues today with bellwether companies putting up impressive numbers for the second quarter despite fears of a pullback in spending by Americans, the Associated Press reports.
Futures for the Dow Jones industrials rose 0.2%, and the S&P 500 ticked 0.3% higher before the bell.
Delta Air Lines jumped 4.6% after it reported unprecedented quarterly profit and revenue before the opening bell. PepsiCo raised its full-year forecast after second-quarter results and handily topped Wall Street expectations, with shares rising more than 2% before the market opened.
Markets added to gains this week after the U.S. reported Wednesday that inflation cooled a bit more than expected, to 3% in June. That’s its lowest point since early 2021, thanks in part to easing prices for gasoline, airline fares, used cars, and groceries.
Traders remain nearly convinced the Fed will raise the federal funds rate at its meeting in two weeks to a range of 5.25%–5.50%, which would be its highest level since 2001; however, expectations are also climbing for that to be the final increase after rates started last year at virtually zero.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 10 cents to $75.85 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 21 cents to $80.32 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 138.57 Japanese yen from 138.33 yen.
