So much for Shocktober. Wall Street’s often scary month for stocks suddenly turned into Rocktober.
The Dow rose nearly 600 points, or 2%, shortly after opening Tuesday before giving up some of its gains. However, it ended the day up more than 340 points, or 1.1%.
Strong earnings from blue chip companies lifted market sentiment. Goldman Sachs ( GS ), Dow Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) all reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed up 0.9% and 1.1%, respectively.
The Dow was also boosted by news that activist investment firm Starboard Value (CRM)-Inc..pdf” target=”_blank”>took a stake in software giant (and Dow component) Salesforce (CRM), with hopes pushing the company to make changes that can boost profits. Shares of Salesforce ( CRM ) closed up 4.4%.
Market gains follow a big rally on Monday, thanks to healthy earnings as well as improved sentiment for the UK following moves by Prime Minister Liz Truss’s government to backtrack on controversial tax cuts.
The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all now higher for the month after big drops in August and September. Stocks are still lower for the year as investors worry about inflation, big rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and the possibility of a recession in 2023.
