Stocks opened in positive territory thanks to solid earnings reports from Dow components UnitedHealth (UNH), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). The averages saw their lows a short time after the open and then gained upside momentum, leading stocks to their best day since March. The move was broad, as all 11 of the S&P sectors were higher. The Nasdaq led the charge with gains of roughly 3% while the Dow and S&P both rose over 2%. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., industrial production rose 0.3% in September, bringing capacity use to 78.1%. The NAHB housing market index rose 1 point to 68 in October after holding at 67 in the prior two months. The JOLTS report showed job openings rose 59,000 to about 7.14M in August, a new record high. COMPANY NEWS: Two of the biggest names in healthcare, UnitedHealth and Johnson & Johnson, rose 4.7% and 2%, respectively, following their earnings reports... Also on the earnings front, fellow Dow member Goldman Sachs reported better than expected earnings and revenue, stating that its "solid results" in the third quarter were driven by contributions from across its "diversified client franchise." Banking peer Morgan Stanley (MS) reported what Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski called a "clean beat," leading him to raise his 2019 earnings per share estimate and upgrade the stock to Outperform from Perform... Shares of Adobe (ADBE) jumped 9.5% after the company gave preliminary guidance for fiscal 2019 that JPMorgan analyst Sterling Auty said should "[satisfy] any expectations" going into the analyst meeting held as part of the Adobe MAX event... Meanwhile, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) CEO Stefano Pesina told Bloomberg in an interview that he believes a buyout of AmerisourceBergen (ABC), in which the pharmacy chain already holds a stake, is possible. Following the report, AmerisourceBergen shares rose about 3%. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Dollar Tree (DLTR), which rose nearly 7% after the New York Post reported that Carl Icahn is accumulating a significant stake in the dollar store operator. Also higher was Tesla (TSLA), which gained 6.5% after Bloomberg reported that U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan approved CEO Elon Musk's $20M settlement with the SEC regarding claims that he misled investors in tweets about taking the company private. Among the notable losers was Jeld-Wen (JELD), which fell 19% after the company reported weak preliminary Q3 results and announced the departure of CFO Brooks Mallard. Also lower was Grainger (GWW), which dropped 12% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow rose 547.87, or 2.17%, to 25,798.42, the Nasdaq gained 214.75, or 2.89%, to 7,645.49, and the S&P 500 advanced 59.13, or 2.15%, to 2,809.92.
