US stocks rose on Wednesday following earnings reports from a spate of banks and other big companies.
The S&P 500 rose 10.74, or 0.2%, at 4,565.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 109.28 points, or 0.3%, at 35,061.21. The Nasdaq composite edged up by 4.38, or less than 0.1%, at 14,358.02.
The insurance provider Elevance Health climbed 4.4% after it reported stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected.
Western Alliance Bancorp bounced from an early loss to a gain of 7.8% after reporting weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
The bank said customers added $3.5 billion in deposits from April through June.
US Bancorp rose 6.5% after reporting weaker profit than expected but slightly stronger revenue.
The used-car dealer Carvana soared 40.2% after it agreed with its creditors to reduce its debt by more than $1.2 billion.
The yield on 10-year treasury slipped to 3.74% from 3.79% late Tuesday.
Currencies
The US dollar rose to 139.63 Japanese yen from 138.85. The euro fell to $1.1202 from $1.1228.
Europe
European shares closed higher on Wednesday, led by UK stocks after a faster-than-expected slowdown in British inflation.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended up 0.3%, extending gains to the second straight session.
Data showed British inflation cooled by more than expected in June and rose by its slowest pace in more than a year.
Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.8% at 7,588.20. Germany’s DAX lost 0.1% at 16,108.93. France’s CAC 40 added 0.1% at 7,326.94.
Asia
Asian stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.3% at 18,952.31. China’s Shanghai Composite ended flat at 3,198.84.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% at 32,896.03.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6% at 7,323.7. New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index added 0.1% to end at 11,944.54.
Energy prices
Brent crude for September delivery fell 17 cents to $79.46 a barrel on Wednesday. US crude oil benchmark for August delivery fell 40 cents to $75.35 a barrel.
Natural gas for August delivery fell 3 cents to $2.60 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Bullion
Gold for August delivery was unchanged at $1,980.80 an ounce. Silver for September delivery rose 13 cents to $25.39 an ounce.