Wall Street Closes Mixed as Strong Earnings Push the Dow Higher

 

NEW YORK, Oct 21 — U.S. stocks ended Tuesday’s session mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average leading gains after a wave of strong corporate earnings lifted confidence in industrial and capital goods companies.

The S&P 500 finished nearly flat, while weakness in tech and semiconductor shares dragged the Nasdaq Composite slightly lower.

“We’re in a moment of indecision where no one feels strongly about any particular direction,” said Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management in Philadelphia. “That shows up as weaker reactions to earnings surprises.”

 

Earnings Season Brings Strong Results

The third-quarter earnings season is now in full swing, with major companies such as General Motors, GE Aerospace, 3M, and Coca-Cola posting stronger-than-expected results. Still, with U.S.

equity indexes hovering near record highs and valuations stretched, solid earnings alone may not be enough to maintain investors’ risk appetite. According to Green, many firms are seeing small gains in profit margins, a sign they are successfully managing the impact of tariffs either by passing them on or offsetting them elsewhere. However, he noted that “nothing is standing out strongly enough to define a clear market direction.”

Stock Movers

• General Motors (GM) raised its outlook and eased tariff concerns, sending its stock up 14.9%.
  
  
•  Coca-Cola (KO) climbed 4.1% on robust consumer demand and better-than-expected earnings. 
  
  
• 3M (MMM) advanced 7.7% after raising its full-year forecast, helped by higher-margin products and tight cost controls.
  
  
• Aerospace and defense giants Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and RTX all lifted their outlooks, driven by steady demand for defense equipment.

• Netflix (NFLX) dropped 5.8% in after-hours trading after missing quarterly earnings estimates.

So far, 78 companies in the S&P 500 have reported results, with 87% beating Wall Street expectations, according to LSEG data.

Analysts now expect third-quarter earnings to grow 9.2% year-over-year, up from 8.8% estimated on October 1.

 Market Performance

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 218.16 points (0.47%) to 46,924.74.
  
  
• The S&P 500 edged up 0.22 points to 6,735.35.
  
  
• The Nasdaq Composite slipped 36.88 points (0.16%) to 22,953.67.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, consumer discretionary and industrials led the gainers, while utilities suffered the biggest decline.

Corporate and Political Developments

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) surged 11% after reports the company was considering a full sale amid interest from several buyers. Later in the session, the board reportedly rejected an offer from Paramount Skydance.

Meanwhile, the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, now in its third week, continues to cloud the economic outlook by delaying key data releases — a challenge for the data-dependent Federal Reserve.

Even so, economists in a Reuters poll expect the Fed to implement two more 25-basis-point rate cuts before year-end, though opinions remain split on 2026 policy moves.

On the geopolitical front, President Donald Trump struck a positive tone on trade, saying he expects to reach a “fair deal” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and downplayed tensions over Taiwan. Markets are watching closely ahead of their expected meeting at next week’s economic summit in South Korea.