Stocks closed higher again yesterday. The small-cap Russell 2000, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were the leaders yesterday gaining 1.79% and 1.59% respectively. The S&P 500 was no slouch either as they gained 1.20% on the day.

Solid earnings before the open yesterday by General Motors (positive EPS surprise of 26.0%), Danaher (positive EPS surprise of 11.6%), and GE Aerospace (positive EPS surprise of 22.4%) set the tone for the rest of the day.

After the close the good news kept coming with Visa posting a positive EPS surprise of 3.29% (they were up 2.15% in after-hours trade), and Texas Instruments posting a positive EPS surprise of 13.2% (they were up by more than 6.50% in after-hours trade).

Widely held Tesla also reported after the close. They posted a negative EPS surprise of -2.17%, and a negative sales surprise of -3.83%. That translated to a quarterly growth rate of -47.1% vs. this time last year, and a negative sales growth of -8.70%. But the stock was up by more than 11% in after-hours trade after Elon Musk moved up his timeline for when they'll start production on a new, more affordable model. Estimates now are for later this year, or early next year vs. the previous expectation for the back half of 2025.

We'll get more earnings today with 248 companies set to report with heavyweights Thermo Fisher, AT&T, and Boeing going before the open, and Meta, IBM, and Lam Research reporting after the close.

In other news yesterday, New Home Sales rose to 693,000 units (annualized) vs. last month's 637K and views for 670K.

The PMI Composite report showed the Index coming in at 50.9, down from last month's 52.1. The Manufacturing Index was down at 49.9 vs. last month's 51.9, while the Services Index was down as well at 50.9 vs. last month's 51.7.

And the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index improved to -7 from last month's -11.

Today we'll get MBA Mortgage Applications, Durable Goods Orders, and the Survey of Business Uncertainty.

And we'll see if the markets can extend their gains.

With most of the indexes having pulled back by roughly -5% or more over the last several weeks (stocks usually pull back about -5% roughly 3-4 times per year), the market was/is ripe for a rebound. And could very well be the beginning of the next leg up on to new highs.

And with earnings season underway (stocks typically go up during earnings season), the odds are looking better and better for more upside to go.

See you tomorrow,