MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow On Track For 10th Straight Record As Bank Stocks Climb

Dow could close higher for an 11th straight session, longest streak since February

U.S. stocks pivoted to session highs Tuesday, putting the Dow and S&P 500 on track to log another round of all-time highs as financials, energy, and technology stocks led on the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 51 points, or 0.2%, to 22,170, while the S&P 500 index added 9 points, or 0.3%, to 2,489. The financials sector, up 0.8%, topped the S&P 500's 11 sectors, with 0.5% gain in energy stocks and a 0.5% climb in tech names also contributing to a small rise. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 34 points, or 0.5%, for 6,418.

With the day's gains, the Dow is on track for its 11th straight daily rise, as well as its 10th straight record close. Those are its longest such streaks since February. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are on track for their third straight daily rises.

Related:Dow's 35 all-time-high closes in 2017 put it halfway toward a record number of records (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-dow-is-halfway-toward-having-a-record-number-of-records-2017-08-08)

"The backdrop is great: earnings are good, the dollar is weak, and both rates and inflation are low. If that continues, there should continue to be a slog higher," said James Meyer, chief investment officer at Tower Bridge Advisors.

While recent market action has had a modest upside bias, the moves have been muted; by one metric, this is the quietest market since 1965 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-market-hasnt-been-this-quiet-since-lyndon-b-johnson-was-president-2017-07-12). The S&P 500 hasn't had a session where it moved 0.5%, in either direction, since July 19, an abnormally long time. The CBOE Volatility index recently traded near its all-time lows.

Financials were the day's biggest gainers, up 0.8%. Among the top-performing stocks in the industry, Fifth Third Bancorp(FITB) rose 2.9% while Capital One Financial(COF) was up 2.4%. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) was up 1.1%.

Investors have become increasingly bullish on the group. Wells Fargo on Monday reiterated that it was one of four sectors--along with consumer discretionary, health care, and tech--that "currently appear poised for the biggest outperformance."

Separately, Oppenheimer noted that the group had been "the top-performing sector against falling interest rates since May, when the 10-year US Treasury yield peaked at 2.4%," adding, "We view positive reactions to bearish information as a sign that the bad news has been discounted and the underlying asset is primed to rally."

Goldman Sachs listed five reasons why portfolio managers were "ignoring the micro story" of financials, suggesting that even though they are the top-performing sector over the past 12 months--up more than 30%--they still had room to grow. The five reasons include their trading at a relative valuation discount, deregulation tailwinds that weren't priced into shares, and increases in both buybacks and dividends, which the investment bank said would rise at three times the pace of the overall S&P 500.

Individual movers: Shares in Avis Budget Group Inc.(CAR) fell 7.6% after the car rental company late Monday posted quarterly results that missed Wall Street's expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/avis-shares-down-10-after-company-misses-eps-sales-forecasts-2017-08-07).

Marriott International Inc.(MAR) shed 2.1% after the hotelier posted a quarterly earnings beat, but guided profit for the current quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/marriott-earnings-beat-but-stock-falls-2-2017-08-07) slightly below analysts' forecasts.

CBS Corp.(CBSA) rose 2.6% after the media giant also reported results late Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cbs-earnings-boosted-by-twin-peaks-final-four-2017-08-07), with revenue topping expectations.

Drugstore operator CVS(CVS) posted earnings and revenue that beat estimates (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cvs-health-shares-rise-after-earnings-and-revenue-beat-estimates-2017-08-08). Shares fell 1.9%.

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.(KORS) soared 20% as profit at the clothing and accessories company's beat views (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/michael-kors-shares-spike-after-earnings-beat-2017-08-08). Ralph Lauren Corp(RL) jumped about 10% on its own results.

"I don't know that these companies have bright futures, but the results weren't as dismal as many people thought," Meyer said. "If expectations get low enough, you can beat them."

Drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.(VRX.T) gained 8.5% as its quarterly revenue topped forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/valeant-reports-q2-loss-cuts-2017-revenue-guidance-2017-08-08).

Dairy giant Dean Foods Co. (DF) plummeted 18% lower after its earnings disappointed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dean-foods-ceo-not-satisfied-with-q2-earnings-that-were-well-below-expectations-2017-08-08), while theme park operator SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.'s (SEAS)revenue missed views (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/seaworld-swings-to-loss-and-revenue-misses-expectations-2017-08-08). Shares of SeaWorld lost 8.1%.

Economic news: Sentiment among small-business owners jumped in July (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/small-business-sentiment-rises-in-july-after-five-month-rut-nfib-2017-08-08), the National Federation of Independent Business said early Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported on Tuesday that the number of job openings in June vaulted to 6.16 million (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm)from 5.7 million in May.

Check out:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

Other markets:Oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-tug-lower-on-doubts-opec-meeting-will-deliver-2017-08-08) traded 0.1% higher while gold (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-prices-score-a-lift-as-dollar-softens-2017-08-08)slipped 0.4%. A key dollar index was 0.4% higher.

European equities (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-edge-lower-on-downbeat-german-chinese-export-data-2017-08-08) tilted down Tuesday, as disappointing trade data from Germany and China pulled down on key sectors. Asian markets closed mostly lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-slip-amid-weakening-dollar-2017-08-07).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 08, 2017 12:05 ET (16:05 GMT)