AM Report: 18 Jul 18: NASDAQ record high, focus on Powell and earnings

US sharemarkets lifted on Tuesday following Fed Chair Powell's optimistic comments about the US economy and supportive earnings results. Johnson & Johnson shares rose by 3.5% after its earnings beat analyst expectations. But Goldman Sachs shares fell 0.2%, despite topping earnings expectations. New CEO David Solomon was announced. Amazon (+0.9%) shares rose following a strong start to Prime Day, while Netflix (-5.2%) shares recovered a little after announcing weak subscriber growth. The Dow Jones index rose by 55 points or 0.2%, the S&P 500 index rose by 0.4% and the Nasdaq index rose by 49 points or 0.6%, lifting to fresh record highs.

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