U.S. Stocks Snap 3-day Losing Streak, End On Firm Note

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, recovering well after three successive days of losses, as investors shrugged off fears of a recession and geopolitical concerns, and chose to indulge in some buying at reduced levels.

Investors also reacted positively to the latest batch of corporate earnings news.

The major averages all closed on a firm note. The Dow ended up 294.39 points or 0.76 percent at 38,997.66. The S&P 500 closed up by $53.70 points or 1.04 percent at 5,240.03, while the Nasdaq settled higher by 166.77 points or 1.03 percent at 16,366.85.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in the month of June.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit shrank to $73.1 billion in June from a revised $75.0 billion in May.

Economists had expected the trade deficit to decrease to $72.4 billion from the $75.1 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The narrower trade deficit came as the value of exports jumped by 1.5 percent to $265.9 billion, while the value of imports rose by 0.6 percent to $339.0 billion.

The Atlanta Fed raised its third quarter growth projection for the U.S. economy on Tuesday, citing latest economic data including the ISM indexes.

Real gross domestic product growth estimate, based on the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model, was lifted to 2.9 percent from 2.5 percent predicted on August 1.

Shares of Uber soared 11 percent after the company reported better than expected second quarter results. Caterpillar shares gained 3 percent, after the company’s second quarter results exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

CSX Corp shares climbed 2.6 percent on strong second quarter earnings.

Nvidia Corporation shares surged nearly 4 percent. Meta Platforms also gained nearly 4 percent. Texas Instruments advanced 3.2 percent.

Microsoft, Berkshire Hathway, Eli Lilly & Company, JP Morgan Chase, Mastercard, Costco, Home Depot, Netflix, T-Mobile, Accenture, IBM, GE Aerospace, Verizon, American Express, Walt Disney, Goldman Sachs, Boston Scientific, and Analog Devices gained 1 to 3 percent.

Apple Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Chevron Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Pfizer, Boeing and Micron Technology closed weak.

In overseas trading, Asian stocks closed mostly higher, while European stocks ended on a mixed note.