Dow rises 479 points as earnings lift stocks ahead of SpaceX results
Key Facts
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 479 points, or 0.9%, with an hour remaining in Tuesday's session on October 20, 2026, according to the Associated Press. U.S. stocks gained on strong earnings reports from Equifax, Hasbro and other companies, the agency said. In morning coverage of the session, the healthcare sector rose 1.8%, according to Reuters. Financials also gained 1%, with both sectors contributing to the market's advance during Tuesday trading. The gains came as investors awaited SpaceX's third-quarter financial and operating results after the market close, according to the schedule announced by the company.
The Dow had ended Monday's session down 0.1%, according to the Associated Press, diverging from the other two U.S. indexes. The S&P 500 closed the same session up 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1%. But sector gains in that session were limited to 4 of the S&P 500's 11 sectors, according to Charles Schwab. Explaining the interest in other sectors, Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, told Reuters: "Investors are looking for other opportunities outside technology." Baird added that "healthcare is one of the sectors benefiting from that," linking the sector's performance to investors seeking opportunities outside technology stocks.
Among the corporate results supporting the market, Equifax reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.26 for the third quarter of 2026. The company said in its earnings release that this represented an 11% increase from the same quarter of 2025. Hasbro reported diluted earnings per share of $2.77 in its third-quarter results. The company's adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.90, according to its statement, compared with the reported unadjusted figure. The Associated Press included the Equifax and Hasbro earnings reports among the strong results that helped U.S. stocks rise during Tuesday's session.
Among individual stocks, 3M rose about 6% during Tuesday trading, according to Investing's coverage, adding earnings-driven support to the Dow's advance. In the opposite direction, General Motors fell 8.5% during the session, diverging from gains in the broader market. In energy markets, Brent crude futures fell 0.8% in the reading cited in Tuesday's coverage. They stood at $108.69 a barrel, according to Investing, as U.S. stocks rose during trading. Reuters said lower oil prices helped support investor sentiment, alongside earnings-related drivers and sector gains.
SpaceX's upcoming results follow a 91.9% rise in second-quarter revenue from the same period a year earlier, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company's revenue for that quarter reached $7.8 billion, according to the firm. That total exceeded the Visible Alpha consensus forecast by 14.6%, beating revenue estimates for the quarter. Alongside revenue growth, the company's capital spending on artificial intelligence totaled about $15.8 billion in the second quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. For the upcoming third-quarter report, Charles Schwab cited expectations for earnings per share of $0.13 and revenue of $12.7 billion.
SpaceX said in an investor announcement that it would release its third-quarter 2026 financial and operating results after the market close on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. It added in the same announcement that it would hold a webcast to discuss the results on the day of their release. The company scheduled the webcast for 4:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time, after the trading session ends. Corporate earnings announcements continue on the Wednesday following Tuesday's session, with markets awaiting results from Meta Platforms, according to Reuters. Tesla is also scheduled to report results on Wednesday, among the reporting dates cited by the agency in its coverage of U.S. stocks.