Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. 13 and 22
The Dow's streak is now up to 13 positive sessions, something Wall Street hasn't seen since 1987. If it hits 14 on Thursday, it'll tie a record that dates back to ... 1897(!), which wasn't long after the index's creation. The Dow rolled to its latest win after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point to its highest point in 22 years. While Fed Chairman Jerome Powell noted that inflation had moderated, he said there was still a ways to go before it's tamed. But, as CNBC's Jeff Cox reports, Powell did leave open the possibility that the Fed holds steady at its September policy meeting. Follow live market updates.
2. McDonald's serves up a win
Thank Grimace. The big, purple McDonald's mascot was the centerpiece of a promotional campaign that went viral on social media and, in turn, drove customers into the company's restaurants, helping produce a strong quarter. It wasn't all Grimace, of course. Sales grew pretty much across the board. China experienced a rebound, while the United Kingdom and Germany also posted robust sales growth. In the U.S., which is the company's biggest market, sales jumped 10.3% in the quarter.
3. Meta flexes
Mark Zuckerberg's Meta topped Wall Street's estimates with its earnings report Wednesday. But what really wowed investors was its guidance for the current quarter, which easily exceeded analysts' views. A good deal of the positivity comes from Facebook's digital advertising revenue rising again. Chinese companies and online retailers are driving this, according to Susan Li, Meta's chief financial officer. It's such a welcome development that investors aren't paying much attention anymore to big losses in the company's metaverse business. Meta stock popped 8% in extended trading. The stock is already up 160% this year as of Wednesday's close.
4. Shell profit slides
Oil giant Shell reported a steep decline in profit for the second quarter, as commodity prices have fallen globally. Analysts had expected the decline, since profits last year were astoundingly high, but the adjusted profit figure of $5.1 billion came in well below the $6 billion estimate. Shell's results accompanied those of French oil giant TotalEnergies, which also reported a big decline in earnings. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne noted a "favorable but softening oil and gas environment."
5. Higher prices boost Comcast
People are still cutting the cord, and broadband growth is slowing, but cable and entertainment giant Comcast still turned a profit and beat Wall Street's expectations – yet again. This, even as the company's fledgling streaming service, Peacock, continues to rack up financial losses despite nearly doubling its subscriber count from the year-earlier period. Theme parks performed well, however, with the new Super Nintendo World driving attendance in Hollywood, although revenue at its Orlando, Florida, park slipped. (Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.)
– CNBC's Samantha Subin, Fred Imbert, Jeff Cox, Amelia Lucas, Jonathan Vanian, Sam Meredith and Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
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