The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA ) reached a new record close on Tuesday, propelled higher by strong earnings from Coca-Cola and 3M as market participants look past lingering concerns over U.S.-China trade and the U.S. government shutdown.
The 30-stock index gained over 200 points to settle at 46,924.74 after briefly topping 47,000 earlier in the session. The broader market S&P 500 Index (SPY ) end the day just above the flatline at 6,735.35, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (QQQ ) slipped nearly 0.2% to close at 22,953.67.
Driving much of the session's moves, Coca-Cola (KO ) and 3M (MMM ) each posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday. The snack and beverage giant said its pricer brands, like Fairlife and Smartwater, are showing positive momentum from higher-income consumers as the company sees lower traffic across its North American segment from low-income consumers. 3M, meanwhile, boosted its full-year earnings guidance to a range of $7.95 to $8.05 from its prior $7.75 to $8.00.
General Motors (GM ) shares climbed 15% on Tuesday after the Detroit automaker raised its full year outlook and lowered its estimated tariff impact to between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion from its previous range of $4 billion to $5 billion. The company said it also expects to offset about 35% of the impact, with CEO Mary Barra thanking President Donald Trump on Tuesday for imposing duties on imported medium- and heavy-duty trucks and parts last Friday.
"Thanks to the collective efforts of our team, and our compelling vehicle portfolio, GM delivered another very good quarter of earnings and free cash flow," Barra said Tuesday in a shareholder letter. "Based on our performance, we are raising our full-year guidance, underscoring our confidence in the company's trajectory."
Rounding out the earnings front, Zions Bancorporation (ZION ) reported annual profit gains in its third-quarter, offsetting some of the market's concern over losses from bad loans the regional bank disclosed last week. The bank's Chief Credit Officer Derek Steward said during an earnings call that the company is "confident this was an isolated incident in our portfolio."
"Third-quarter earnings results for several U.S. regional banks did not show outsized or unexpected credit losses, and management teams are providing a reassuring outlook for the fourth quarter," Stephens analyst Terry McEvoy said in a note to clients. "Such trends support the idea that the stress at a handful of companies is more of a one-off than an emerging trend."
Due to the ongoing government shutdown, which has effectively halted the release of multiple key economic reports, quarterly earnings are having an outsized impact on market moves as investors look for direction ahead of the Federal Reserve's next policy-setting meeting later this month. Mega-cap darling Netflix (NFLX ) is slated to deliver results after closing bell on Tuesday, and Tesla (TSLA ) is scheduled for after market on Wednesday. Friday's consumer sentiment reading for October is set to capture much of the market's attention on Friday.
In the news, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD ) said Tuesday it received "unsolicited interest" from multiple parties, potentially changing its plans to separate into two companies to instead entertain a sale. The company said on Tuesday that despite the exploration, it is still moving towards splitting its operations into a streaming and studio business and a global networks business.
"We continue to make important strides to position our business to succeed in today's evolving media landscape by advancing our strategic initiatives, returning our studios to industry leadership, and scaling HBO Max globally," CEO David Zaslav said in a statement. "We took the bold stop of preparing to separate the Company into two distinct, leading media companies, Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, because we strongly believed this was the best path forward."
