US markets staged a late rally behind the traditional cyclical sectors, with financials, energy and mining companies leading the charge.
The Nasdaq overcame another 7.4% drop in Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) stock, which delivered below expectations, to add 1.2% for the day with the Dow Jones not far behind adding 0.9%.
Thursday marks the beginning of the Earth Day Climate Summit organised by the Biden Administration at which 40 global leaders from 17 economies, representing 80% of global emissions, will put forward their plans to drastically cut emissions and ramp up pressure on corporates to do the same.
Johnson & Johnson reports
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is one such company that has agreed to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030.
Shares were broadly flat despite the single-shot vaccine producer announcing a 9.6% increase in sales through its pharmaceutical division on the back of the rollout.
The consumer unit struggled to keep up with 2020 levels, with the Neutrogena business seeing revenue decline by 2.3%.
Intuitive Surgical crushes expectations
Surgical-robotics equipment company Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) also released earnings, reporting 18% growth in first-quarter revenue to US$1.29 billion and a big lift in net income which hit US$426 million.
Intuitive Surgical shares finished the day 9.9% higher on the news.
Market movers
Here are how other popular US stocks fared overnight:
- Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) up 8.1%
- ViacomCBS (NYSE: VIAC) up 7.7%
- Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) up 3.5%
- Nike (NYSE: NKE) up 2.2%
- Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) down 3.3%
- Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) down 6.2%
Looking ahead, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is set to follow the positive lead from US markets and open higher on Thursday. For all the latest, check out Rask Media’s daily ASX 200 report.