Stocks closed the session higher across the board. Investors are waiting to see if lawmakers can break the stalemate in Washington over a new coronavirus relief package. Meanwhile, all eyes are on earnings this afternoon, with Disney (DIS), Wynn Resorts (WYNN), Fox Corporation (FOXA), and Activision Blizzard (ATVI) reporting.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., factory orders beat estimates with a 6.2% climb in June.
Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera reported that large scale amounts of wounded are being reported from a "a huge blast that ripped through Lebanon's capital, Beirut." "The massive explosion on Tuesday at Beirut's port released a shockwave which caused widespread damage to buildings, shattering windows in different parts of the city," added the Al-Jazeera story.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Ford (F) were 2.5% higher after the company announced that Jim Hackett plans to retire from the company. Jim Farley has been named the company's new president and CEO and will join the board, effective Oct. 1, Ford reported this morning.
As analysts opine on the odds of Microsoft (MSFT) buying TikTok's operations in the U.S., which President Donald Trump has said he'd be fine with, Axios' Dan Primack reported that sources tell him that Apple (AAPL) has also expressed interest in buying the social video sharing platform. However, Primack has since tweeted that an Apple spokesperson tells Axios that there are no discussions about buying TikTok and the company isn't interested.
Meanwhile, Apple announced that longtime marketing head Phil Schiller will step down from his role and continue to work at the company as an Apple Fellow.
In other news, Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the SEC asking for an investigation into "potential incidents of insider trading" prior to Eastman Kodak's (KODK) July 28 announcement of the Trump administration's $765M loan to support the production of generic drug ingredients. Later, the Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC is investigating the loan. Additionally, Eastman Kodak independent director George Karfunkel disclosed a 4.4% stake in the company, down from the 15.5% stake he disclosed on December 6, 2019. The reduced stake is the result of a donation of 3M shares of Eastman Kodak to Congregation Chemdas Yisroel on July 29, 2020, according to the filing.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Blink Charging (BLNK), which rose over 8% after it signed an agreement with Cushman & Wakefield (CWK) for the marketing and potential deployment of Blink charging stations and related services to C&W clients throughout the United States. Also higher were Harmonic (HLIT) and SolarEdge (SEDG), which gained a respective 24.9% and 13% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was DBV Technologies (DBVT), which slid 42.9% after received a non-approval letter from the FDA for its peanut allergy patch. Also lower were Virgin Galactic (SPCE) and Ralph Lauren (RL), which fell 13.7% and 4.4%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 164.07, or 0.62%, to 26,828.47, the Nasdaq gained 38.37, or 0.35%, to 10,941.17, and the S&P 500 advanced 11.90, or 0.36%, to 3,306.51.
