Stock market news live: Dow hits record high as equity traders shake off coronavirus fears - Yahoo Finance

U.S. stocks climbed as traders monitored corporate earnings, a second day of testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and developments with the coronavirus outbreak.

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9:33 a.m. ET: Stocks rise, Dow hits record high

The Dow hit a fresh record high just after market open Wednesday, led by shares of Dow Inc. and UnitedHealth Group. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also opened higher.

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 9:33 a.m. ET:

S&P 500 (^GSPC): +0.51% or +17.23 points to 3,374.98
Dow (^DJI): +0.67% or +196.63 points to 29,472.97
Nasdaq (^IXIC): +0.67% or +65 points to 9,703.94
Crude oil (CL=F): +3.3% or +1.65 to $51.59 a barrel
Gold (GC=F) -0.03% or -$0.40 to $1,569.70 per ounce

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9:05 a.m. ET: CVS shares rise after company beats 4Q expectations

CVS Health Corporation (CVS) posted fourth-quarter results that topped consensus estimates, driven by strong growth in its pharmacy services and health benefits businesses after its acquisition of Aetna. Sales guidance for the full year was better than expected.

Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings were $1.73 per share on net revenue of $66.89 billion, better than the $1.68 per share on net revenue of $63.95 billion expected. For 2020, CVS sees revenue in a range of between $261.97 billion to $265.48 billion, better than the $256.9 billion expected.

Shares of CVS were up 1.5% ahead of the opening bell.

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7:47 a.m. ET: Lyft shares sink 5% in early trading after leaving profit guidance unchanged

Lyft’s stock held lower during the overnight session after its better-than-expected fourth-quarter results failed to impress investors. Many had hoped the ride-hailing company would pull forward its guidance for hitting profitability.

In results delivered after market close Tuesday, Lyft said it still expected to be profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis by the fourth quarter of 2021. Uber, which also runs a number of other businesses including food-delivery and freight services, said it would be profitable by the fourth quarter of this year.

Shares of Lyft fell 5% to $51.24 each during the pre-market session. However, shares had been up 25% for the year to date through Tuesday’s close.

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7:46 a.m. ET: Dow futures look to open 100+ points higher

Contracts on the three major U.S. stock indices jumped as concerns over the coronavirus failed to meaningfully shake domestic equities for another session. Investors also monitored corporate earnings results and awaited a second day of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The number of deaths from the coronavirus, now officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), has claimed the lives of 1,115 individuals globally, with the total number of confirmed cases topping 45,000. However, the number of suspected further cases in China’s Hubei province – the epicenter of the virus – fell by more than 5,000 to 16,000.

Powell addressed the coronavirus in his remarks to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Tuesday, saying there would “likely be some effects on the United States,” but that “it’s just too early to say” what the extent of the impact might be. Powell is expected to address the Senate Banking Committee starting at 9:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, after answering a bevy of questions about the labor market, Federal Reserve’s repo market operations and other topics on Monday.

Here were the main moves during the pre-market session, as of 7:46 a.m. ET: