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GROWTH OUTPERFORMS VALUE ON WALL STREET (1036 EDT/1436 GMT)

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was gaining ground on Wednesday with growth stocks outperforming value stocks while the S&P 500 oscillated between positive and negative territory and the Dow industrials was in the red.

The S&P Growth index was up 0.6% while the S&P Value index fell 0.7%. Growth shares, which rely on low-cost financing to propel future earnings, were helped by a slide in the yield in the benchmark 10 Treasury note to 1.57%.

Consumer discretionary led the 11 S&P 500 sectors higher, while energy was the biggest decliner.

Stocks valued at more than $1 trillion, including Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Tesla Inc, Google parent Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com Inc , led the S&P higher.

Apple Inc was the only member of that exclusive club losing ground.

McDonald's Corp was up 1.6% after reporting quarterly U.S. sales that beat Wall Street expectations, helped by higher prices, larger order sizes and newer menu items.

Global same-store sales jumped 12.7% in the third quarter, compared with estimates of a 10.31% rise, according to Refinitiv IBES data. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.28% to 35,656.18, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.07% to 4,571.44 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.35% to 15,289.12.

One of the most active stocks was Coca-Cola Co, which rose after it raised its full-year profit forecast in a sign higher prices and demand for its sodas across the globe were helping it counter a profit squeeze from supply chain disruptions. 

The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 42 new highs and 65 new lows. (Herbert Lash)

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EARNINGS OUTLOOK BUOYS WALL STREET (0915 EDT/1315 GMT)

Futures for the three main stock indices on Wall Street were up in premarket trade on Wednesday as companies report strong quarterly results that have pushed the S&P 500 and Dow to record highs this week.

Companies are reporting earnings 13.3% above expectations, with the blended earnings growth estimate at 35.6%, according to Refinitiv data. If the energy sector is excluded, the growth rate for the index is 28.2%, Refinitiv said.

Microsoft Corp was up after it forecast a strong end to the calendar year thanks to its booming cloud business but said supply chain woes will continue to dog key units. 

Google parent Alphabet Inc reported higher than expected third-quarter ad sales, a sign that the business is overcoming new limits on tracking mobile users and that online shopping is as popular as ever heading into the holiday season.

But Google shares, which have gained nearly 59% so far this year, fell slightly in premarket trade.

Stronger-than-expected earnings reports have helped life the S&P 500 .SPX and Dow Industrials .DJI to record closing highs this week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC is 1% off its record peak.

Shares of Robinhood Markets Inc fell below their initial public offering price in premarket trade after the retail broker reported softer revenue than expected for the third quarter as trading levels declined for cryptocurrencies.

The slowdown in retail trading, one of the standout market trends of the COVID-19 era, comes as U.S. vaccine rollouts have helped the country to ease pandemic restrictions and activities like sports and other entertainment to resume.  Crypto trading revenue, which makes up for the majority of HOOD's total trading revenue, increased 860% in the third quarter from a year earlier but was off second-quarter highs.

Shares of Swedish music streaming platform Spotify Technology SA rose in premarket trade after it beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue.

The company reported a 19% jump in paid subscribers for its premium service from a year earlier, driven by demand in Europe and North America 

(Herbert Lash)

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