Morning Report 16 October 2019: Earnings optimism boost stocks

US sharemarkets rose on Tuesday with investors encouraged by bank earnings data. Shares in JP Morgan Chase rose by 3.0%, Wells Fargo rose by 1.7% and Citigroup rose by 1.4%. Also after encouraging earnings data, shares in UnitedHealth rose by 8.2% - its best gain in eight years - and shares in Johnson & Johnson rose by 1.6%. The Dow Jones rose by 237 points or 0.9% after being up 333 points in late morning trade. The S&P500 index rose by 1.0% and the Nasdaq lifted by 100 points or 1.2%.

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