Dow Jones to lead Wall Street higher as United Health earnings impress

Wall Street has started on the front foot, boosted by some solid earnings reports.

The Dow Jones has opened 0.7% higher, led by UnitedHealth, up over 9% on the back of its earnings earlier.

The S&P 500, where the same company is also at the top of the leaderboard, and Nasdaq have both inches up 0.3%.

Other top risers on the S&P include a broad range of companies, including rival health insurer Humana, and homebuilder DR Horton, which climbed 8.4% on the back of its own earnings beat.

Halliburton and 3M are up strongly on the back of earnings, too, rising 4.5% and 2.6%.

US stocks are set for a firmer open on Tuesday, with investors provided with more earnings to chew over and a Senate grilling for new Fed chief Kevin Warsh later to distract them from waiting for any news on Iran.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones futures were up 0.6%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were pointing to gains of 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.

In the previous session, Wall Street equities pulled back from record levels, with the mood dampened by concerns that Iran was refusing to engage in peace talks with the US in Pakistan.

The Nasdaq slipped 0.3% to 24,404, while the S&P eased 0.2% to 7,109 and the Dow Jones was just below flat at 49,443.

Oil prices were holding steady, with markets awaiting developments around US-Iran peace talks ahead of the ceasefire deadline tomorrow evening.

Iranian state media has reported today that no delegation has yet set off for Pakistan for the proposed peace talks

Market analyst Fawad Razaqzada at FOREX.com notes that oil markets are “holding steady, ready to potentially resume higher on any signs of a major re-escalation”.

He said the two sides “appear to have drifted further apart since Friday, and there are now question marks over whether the planned meeting will take place on Wednesday”, though Tehran and Islamabad are only a 3-4 hour flight away.

“One key detail to watch is the potential arrival of US Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad—if he turns up at all. Trump had suggested yesterday that he was already en route, though that proved premature. There are now indications he may arrive later today or overnight, which would at least point to talks going ahead.”

Corporate earnings have a strong defence feel, with GE Aerospace, RTX Corporation and Northrop Grumman, along with United Health and 3M.

United reported lower earnings than last year, but better than expected, with the shares up almost 8% in pre-market trading, which will support the Dow.

GE Aerospace reported EPS of $1.86, above the $1.81 expected, but new full-year guidance was slightly below expectations. However, the shares were down 3.3% pre-market.

RTX handily beat earnings estimates, $1.78 to $1.52, and raised its full-year adjusted sales and adjusted EPS outlook. Shares are down 0.7% pre-market, though.

Later, investors will watch the confirmation hearing of Federal Reserve chair-designate Kevin Warsh, with markets alert to signals on interest rates and central bank independence.

Based on prepared and leaked remarks, Warsh is expected to emphasise the importance of central bank independence yet insist that politicians giving their views on interest rates won’t affect this.