US stocks close higher; JPMorgan, Delta Air Lines earnings

US stocks ended Wednesday’s session on a high, with the major indexes snapping a three-day losing streak.

Gains for the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average came as some leading Wall Street companies released their quarterly earnings reports. The upside also comes a day after US inflation data showed prices rose at the fastest pace year-over-year since 1981.

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Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Consumer Price Index (CPI) in March showed YoY inflation rose 8.5%.

Markets performance update for Wednesday

The S&P 500 added 49.14 points or just over 1% to close at 4,446.59 on Wednesday, while the Dow gained 344 points to 34,564.59, adding 1%. The Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, rose 2% to 13,643.59.

Elsewhere in the market, Treasury yields fell across the curve with the 10-year yield shrinking by 3 bps to 2.70%. Oil rose 3.6% to above $104 a barrel while gold prices were around $1,981 per ounce.

Crypto registered some gains too, with the broader market recouping over 3% in total market capitalisation. Among the top coins, Bitcoin edged above $41,000 with 4% gains in the past 24 hours. Ethereum recovered 3% to trade above $3,000.

Earnings reports (JPM, DAL, BLK)

JPMorgan Chase’s (NYSE: JPM) first quarter results spelled some bad news for investors. The company’s Q1 profit fell 42% in the three months compared to the same period a year ago.

The bank said the $524 million hit was largely down to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Other factors contributing to the bank’s dismal returns were supply chain bottlenecks and rising inflation.

The JPM stock fell 3.2% on Wednesday.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) jumped 6.2% on Wednesday despite the leading US airline reporting another loss in its Q1 results. The airline said it expects an uptick in business in Q2, with revenue projected to reach 92%-97% of pre-pandemic readings.

Following Delta’s results and forecast, stocks of other major airlines traded higher. American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) soared 10.6% to be among the best performers on Wednesday. Shares of Southwest Airlines also surged, closing +7.5% on the day.

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) also reported its first-quarter results. The world’s largest asset manager’s earnings per share of $9.52 beat the $8.79 expected on Wall Street, while revenue of $4.7 billion was slightly off analyst estimates of $4.8 billion.

The BLK stock closed 0.15% lower and was flat in after-hours trading.

What to watch on Thursday

Earnings results continue on Thursday and investors will likely be keen on economic data too. In the earnings circle, major US banks Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are all scheduled to report Q1 earnings. US Bancorp and PNC Financial will also release quarterly results.

On the economic data front, the market will look out for details in retail sales and import prices. US jobless data is also out on Thursday.

Elsewhere, investors will continue to monitor the situation in the Russia-Ukraine war.