First Bitcoin ETF Jumps 4.8% in Market Debut

S&P 500 is closing in on record high
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 19, 2021 3:54 PM CDT
S&P 500 Closes in on Record High
ProShares CEO Michael Sapir is photographed outside the New York Stock Exchange before his company is listed, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Tuesday, giving the S&P 500 its fifth straight gain and getting it closer to the record high it set in early September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq also closed higher. Health care companies made some of the biggest gains. Johnson & Johnson rose 2.3% after raising its 2021 profit forecast again following the release of strong third-quarter earnings, the AP reports. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose. The S&P 500 rose 33.17 points, or 0.7%, to 4,519.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 198.70 points, or 0.6%, to 35,457.31. The Nasdaq rose 107.28 points, or 0.7%, to 15,129.09.

Among the tech sector winners were Apple, which rose 1.5%, and software maker Adobe, which added 2.1%. The broad gains for stocks follow a mixed start to the week as investors continue monitoring corporate earnings. Analysts polled by FactSet are now forecasting earnings growth of 30% for the S&P 500, up from 23% in June. More importantly, the results could help give investors a better sense of how companies will move forward through the year as they deal with rising inflation and the economic recovery slowing down. "There was a nervousness going in as we started to see some supply chain interruptions," says JJ Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade. "But, the overall picture is still a fairly positive one.”

Insurance company Travelers rose 1.5% after it handily beat Wall Street's third-quarter profit forecasts. Other large companies, including Netflix and United Airlines, will report their results after the market closes. The first exchange-traded fund to track Bitcoin futures rose 4.8% in its market debut. Trading was very heavy for the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, reflecting the increasing interest in cryptocurrencies. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF offers a potentially easier way for some investors to get into the fast-growing crypto world, though it invests in futures contracts for Bitcoin rather than the currency itself. The price of Bitcoin rose 4.3%, according to CoinDesk.

(More stock market stories.)

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