The U.S. stock market advanced in morning trading Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell appeared before Congress for the second day of testimony on monetary policy.
Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL, Financial) jumped almost 9% on Wednesday after the company posted second-quarter earnings on Tuesday afternoon. The company recorded earnings per share of $3.23 on revenue of $10.78 billion, representing 7.8% year-over-year growth. The company managed to beat earnings estimates by 17 cents and revenue expectations by $60 million.
"We delivered great financial results and strong operational performance in the second quarter despite the significant headwind of higher fuel prices," CEO Oscar Munoz said.
Consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile grew 3% year over year and consolidated total revenue per available seat mile increased 2.8%. Further, consolidated unit cost per available seat mile rose 7.1%.
The company repurchased $407 million worth of common stock in the second quarter.
It now expects full-year 2018 diluted earnings per share, excluding special items, to be between $7.25 and $8.75.
Gainers
- CSX Corp. (CSX, Financial)
- Cigna Corp. (CI, Financial)
- American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL, Financial)
- Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL, Financial)
Losers
- Coty Inc. (COTY, Financial)
- Clorox Co. (CLX, Financial)
- Dentsply Sirona Inc. (XRAY, Financial)
- Textron Inc. (TXT)
- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (KORS, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded in positive territory. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.65%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.46%, Germany's Dax gained 0.82% and Spain's Ibex 35 swelled 0.35%.
In Asia, markets closed mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.43%, India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.40%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.23% and China's Shanghai Composite jumped 0.39%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
