Strong Earnings Lift Dow, But Nasdaq Hit By Alphabet

NEW YORK, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jul, 2017 ) - Strong earnings from Caterpillar and McDonald's boosted the Dow early Tuesday, while the Nasdaq slipped on disappointing results from Google-parent Alphabet.

The Federal Reserve kicked off a two-day policy meeting that is widely expected to conclude Wednesday with a status-quo result, focusing the market's attention on a deluge of earnings results this week.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 21,622.08, up 0.5 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,477.52, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.

1 percent to 6,404.51.

Caterpillar shot up 4.2 percent after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter profits and lifting its full-year forecast, amid strong construction in China and improving commodity markets.

Fellow blue-chip company McDonald's rose 4.0 percent after reporting a 28 percent jump in second-quarter profit to $1.4 billion following strong sales in the United States and other key markets.

But Alphabet dropped 2.8 percent after reporting after the close Monday a 28 percent fall in quarterly profits which came in at $3.5 billion as a $2.7 billion antitrust fine in Europe bit into earnings.