U.S. stocks gain on Macy's earnings, Fed outlook; Dow up 0.45%

U.S. stocks gain on Macy's earnings, Fed outlook; Dow up 0.45%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after retailer Macy's released third-quarter earnings that beat expectations and sparked hopes for a more robust holiday shopping season.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.45%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.81%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.16%.

Macy's earlier reported third-quarter earnings of USD0.47 per share, a 31% increase from a year ago and well above consensus forecast for USD0.39.

Comparable sales rose by 3.5% in the quarter, while revenue hit USD6.28 billion, up 3.3% on year and better than market calls for a USD6.19 billion top-line figure.

The company's shares shot up near 10% in earlier trading, which drew applause on Wall Street eager for fresh steering currents on top of those stemming from monetary policy uncertainty.

Incoming Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, a known policy dove, is due to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday and will likely defend the past several years of ultra-loose monetary policies carried out under current Chair Ben Bernanke, which have swelled the Fed's balance sheet to around USD4 trillion.

Better-than-expected unemployment and economic growth figures have some betting the Fed will begin tapering the pace of its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program in December, though ongoing expectations for stimulus program to stay in place until Yellen's first policy meeting in March allowed stocks to rise on Wednesday.

Stimulus programs aim to drive recovery by depressing borrowing costs, boosting stocks in the process.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Microsoft, up 2.11%, Home Depot, up 1.86%, and Walt Disney, up 1.76%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included DuPont, down 1.80%, Merck, down 0.54%, and Verizon, down 0.35%.

European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.50%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.56%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.24%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 1.42%.

On Thursday, the U.S. is to release official data on the trade balance and its weekly report on initial jobless claims.