Dow, S&P 500 extend recent gains; PepsiCo a boost

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Tuesday, extending recent gains as strong results from PepsiCo boosted optimism about the earnings season, while the Nasdaq was flat

PepsiCo's shares surged 4 percent and were poised for their biggest one-day jump in nearly seven years after the company's quarterly results topped estimates on strong sales of snacks.

The company also reaffirmed its full-year forecast amid signs of a gradual recovery in its soda business.

The S&P consumer staples index <.SPLRCS> was up 1 percent, driven by the gain in PepsiCo. Coca-Cola was up 1 percent.

Earnings are expected to become key for investors in the coming weeks as the U.S. reporting period kicks into high gear, shifting the focus away from trade tensions. The United States and China slapped tit-for-tat tariffs on $34 billion of each other's goods on Friday.

 

"They sold into it (the tariff news), and then it bounced back nicely, but it seems like it's hitting a resistance area on the S&P 500 of 2,800," said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc, an investment advisory firm based in Toledo, Ohio.

"Now it's maybe waiting until earnings on Friday for a catalyst."

JPMorgan Chase , Wells Fargo and Citigroup are scheduled to report results on Friday. Their shares dipped on Tuesday after leading market gains on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 129.34 points, or 0.52 percent, to 24,905.93, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 8.05 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,792.22 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 2.60 points, or 0.03 percent, to 7,753.60.

The S&P index reached a peak of 2,795.58, its highest since March 13.

Overall, S&P 500 companies are expected to post second-quarter profit growth of around 21 percent, slightly higher than what was forecast in April, according to Thomson Reuters data.

However, investors and analysts will parse quarterly reports to gauge the impact of an escalating trade dispute between China and the United States on company earnings.

Higher oil prices lifted energy shares. The S&P energy index <.SPNY> rose 0.9 percent as crude oil prices gained on growing supply disruptions in Norway and Libya, but gains were pared after the United States said it would consider requests for waivers from Iranian oil sanctions.

Shares of Exxon and Chevron were up more than 1 percent each. The S&P 500 utilities index <.SPLRCU> was up 1.4 percent, bouncing back from Monday's losses.

Nordstrom dropped 3.8 percent after the upscale department store operator issued a bleak sales forecast for the rest of 2018.

(Additional reporting by Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Jonathan Oatis)