On Tuesday, Bank of America was slightly higher on the New York stock exchanges. The large American bank benefited from the rise in interest rates and made more profit than expected last quarter.
Bank of America spoke of the most profitable first half ever, except for that in 2021. The share climbed 2 percent. Investment bank Morgan Stanley did good business in asset management last quarter but saw profits decline. The stock rose 1.3 percent.
Retailers were also in the spotlight. Before the start of stock exchange trading, it was announced that retail sales in the United States rose slightly less quickly in June than economists had expected. Supermarket chain Walmart fell 0.1 percent, and department store chains Target and Lowe’s lost a fraction of their value.
Shortly after the start of trading, the Dow Jones index was 0.2 percent higher at 34,640 points. The broad S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 4,519 points, and tech fair Nasdaq fell 0.4 percent to 14,185 points.
Lockheed Martin gained nearly 2 percent. The American defence group posted more profit than expected last quarter.
Microsoft lost 0.6 percent. According to media reports, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard (minus 0.5 percent) are unlikely to meet the deadline for closing the $69 billion acquisition deal that expires Tuesday. According to the insiders, Microsoft and takeover target Activision do not intend to walk away from the deal if the deadline is not met and want to extend the deadline.
United Health rose 2 percent. Analysts from investment bank Bernstein advise buying the health insurer and expect the share to rise in value by almost 25 percent.
Pinterest rose 4.2 percent. Analysts at Evercore ISI raised their rating for the digital bulletin board, which they believe will benefit from improved advertising market conditions.