Stocks closed higher Tuesday, boosted by a host of encouraging third-quarter earnings reports.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% to finish at 31,836, while the broader S&P 500 added 1.6% to end at 3,859. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite vaulted 2.3% to close at 11,199 in anticipation of after-close earnings (opens in new tab) from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL (opens in new tab), +1.9%) and Dow component Microsoft (MSFT (opens in new tab) +1.4%)
A slew of better-than-expected quarterly reports from a range of sectors helped lift the major indexes. Dow component Coca-Cola (KO (opens in new tab), +2.5%) beat Wall Street estimates, as did General Motors (GM (opens in new tab), +3.7%) and United Parcel Service (UPS (opens in new tab), -0.3%).
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Investors keyed on KO’s earnings report in particular. Although the multinational took a hit to revenue from the strong U.S. dollar, it was able to offset inflationary pressures by passing higher input costs onto consumers. Indeed, analysts cite Coca-Cola’s pricing power (opens in new tab) when highlighting KO as one of the best stocks to buy for a bear market (opens in new tab) – as well as one of the top Dow dividend stocks to buy now (opens in new tab).
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The Best Consumer Staples StocksIf nothing else, Coca-Cola’s latest report showed the defensive power of consumer staples names. The sector is supposed to hold up better when markets are in a funk, and that’s certainly been true so far in 2022. The S&P 500’s consumer staples sector is beating the benchmark index by about 10 percentage points for the year-to-date.
Consumer staples (opens in new tab) benefit from the fact that folks require these companies’ goods even in downturns. The fact that the sector is a fountain of reliable dividends likewise helps. After all, Coca-Cola is just one of dozens of consumer staples names that have raised their dividends annually for at least 25 years (opens in new tab).
However, as well as KO has done by shareholders this year, it’s far from Wall Street’s favorite. Analysts have stronger recommendations – and higher expectations for price potential – from other corners of the consumer staples sector. Have a look at the top consumer staples stocks to buy now (opens in new tab).