-- Tuesday, January 19, 2021, 9:46 --
U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, as fourth-quarter earnings season kicks into higher gear and as investors are awaiting testimony from Janet Yellen, the former Fed chair nominated by Biden to head the Treasury. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 239.23 points, or 0.78%, to 31,053.49. The S&P 500 climbed 30.40 points, or 0.78%, to 3,798.65. The Nasdaq Composite gained 146.56 points, or 1.13%, to 13,145.06.
Oil futures gained ground Tuesday, as traders shook off a cut in the International Energy Agency’s forecast for 2021 crude demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery rose 19 cents, or 0.4%, to $52.62 a barrel. March Brent crude gained 57 cents, or 1%, to tare at $55.32 a barrel.
The Senate Finance Committee will consider President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen for Treasury Secretary, in one of the closely watched Cabinet confirmation hearings of the week. Yellen is set to advocate for major fiscal action to help support the virus-stricken economy, and will tell Congress to “act big” when it comes to more aid, according to reports of her prepared remarks.
Bank of America posts mixed quarterly results as lending, fixed-income trading come up short. Overall, revenue net of interest expense fell 10% over last year to $20.1 billion, coming up light compared to estimates for $20.5 billion. Earnings of 59 cents a share, however, were 4 cents ahead of expectations.
Goldman Sachs (GS) reported fourth-quarter results that handily surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, as the firm’s trading and investment banking businesses powered ahead during the COVID-19 pandemic. Net revenues totaled $11.74 billion, growing 18% over last year and beating consensus estimates for $10.07 billion. Profit of $12.08 a share was also well above the $7.47 per share expected.
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