by Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended slightly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones ending in the green for an eighth consecutive session – a series not seen since September 2019 – as investors took note of a new wave of results, pending tech giants in particular.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.31%, or 109.28 points, to 35,061.21 points.

The broader S&P-500 gained 10.74 points, or 0.24%, to 4,565.72 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 4.38 points (0.03%) to 14,358.02 points.

Already up the day before in the wake of solid results from major US banks, the banking sector again recorded gains. The S&P-500 banking index rose 1.70%, its third straight session up and the eighth in nine days.

Despite quarterly profit falling to a three-year low, Goldman Sachs ended positive (0.97%) after the bank’s chief executive, David Solomon, was positive on the sector’s recovery, echoing comments from some of his peers on Tuesday.

Several regional banks, such as Citizens Financial and M&T Bank, rose after posting quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations.

Major Wall Street indexes recently posted gains, with the S&P-500 and Nasdaq set to 15-month highs, as indicators pointed to the resilience of the U.S. economy, with lower inflation and a solid labor market.

In this earnings season, investors are particularly awaiting company forecasts, while sales of S&P-500 companies in the second quarter are expected to fall by 8.1%, according to Refinitiv data, against a decline of 5.7% expected in early July.

Tesla ended slightly lower ahead of the post-closing publication of its results, opening the ball for high-growth stocks, while Netflix and IBM were also expected.

Microsoft lost 1.23% and weighed on the Nasdaq after reports that Apple is developing artificial intelligence (AI) services. Nvidia and Alphabet also fell.

( Jean Terzian)

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