US Stocks – Banks Report Mixed Results, Delta Warns About Weak Air Travel, Moderna Announces Vaccine Trials

The major U.S. stock indexes finished higher on Tuesday, rebounding from Monday’s weak session. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average led the way with a more than two-percent gain. The primary support came from strong performances in the energy and materials sectors as investors once again shrugged off the recent surge in coronavirus cases.

On Tuesday, the benchmark S&P 500 Index settled at 3197.52, up 42.30 or +1.41%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 26642.59, up 556.79 or 2.22% and the technology-based NASDAQ Composite closed at 10488.58, up 97.74 or +1.03%.

Surprisingly, stocks performed well despite mixed news. JPMorgan topped Q2 estimates, but Wells Fargo reported a loss. Delta airlines warned air travel would take at least two years to recover, while Moderna announced it is getting ready to start late-stage trials of its COVID-19 vaccine later in the month.

Sectors and Stocks

The S&P Energy, Materials and Industrial Indexes jumped more than 2%, while Health, Technology and Consumer Staples each rose more than 1%.

The S&P 500 Banks Index dropped 1.2% as the three banks – JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo & Co, and Citigroup, Inc – set aside a combined $28 billion to cover potential losses on loans to borrowers hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon slipped 0.6%. It and other recently strong performing technology and growth stocks, including Facebook and Netflix, recovered from deeper losses, giving the NASDAQ a late session spurt.

JPMorgan Chase & Co, the largest U.S. lender, rose 0.6% after it posted a smaller-than-expected 51% drop in second-quarter profit.

Wells Fargo & Company tumbled 4.6% after booking a quarterly loss for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. Citigroup Inc dropped 3.9% after it reported a steep fall in quarterly profit.

Delta Air Lines Inc dropped 2.65% after it warned it will be more than two years before the industry sees a sustainable recovery from the “staggering” impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with demand largely tracking the curve of infections in different places.

Finally Moderna Inc jumped 4.5% after it said it plans to start a late-stage clinical trial for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate on or around July 27.

The Internals

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.92-to-1 ratio; on NASDAQ, a 1.63-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted seven new 52-week highs and no new lows; the NASDAQ Composite recorded 35 new highs and 32 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.7 billion shares, compared with the 11.8 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.