NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2017 / U.S. markets rose Tuesday, with the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq closing at new records, on the strength of better-than-expected earnings from major companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.47 percent to close at 21,613.43, while the S&P 500 Index increased 0.29 percent to close at a record high of 2,477.13. The Nasdaq inched higher with a gain of 0.02 percent to close at a record 6,412.17. Earnings from S&P 500 companies are now expected to increase by 9.1 percent in the second quarter, up from estimates of an 8 percent increase at the beginning of July, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"By most measures, this is a season where companies are surprising to the upside, and that's a key driver for equity prices," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "We know valuations are full, but we're cautiously optimistic because earnings are increasing and the Federal Reserve remains accommodative. That's a favorable backdrop for equities."

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=FCX

AK Steel Holding Corp.
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=AKS

Freeport-McMoRan Inc.'s stock jumped 14.74% Tuesday, to close the day at $14.87. The stock recorded a trading volume of 74,121,803 shares, which was above its three months average volume of 18,860,600 shares. In the last year, Freeport-McMoRan Inc.'s shares have traded in a range of 9.24 - 17.06. The share price has gained 60.93% from its 52 week low. The company's shares are currently trading above their 200-day moving average. Moreover, the stock's 50-day moving average of $12.13 is below its 200-day moving average of $13.15. Shares of the company are trading at a Price to Earnings ratio of 79.52. Despite reporting quarterly results that missed expectations, shares of the company hit a 16-month high on rising copper prices and progress in obtaining a new mining permit by October for the Grasberg mine. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan have gained approximately 12.74 percent year-to-date.

"Freeport's share price performance is justified based on what's happened in copper, based on the progress in negotiations and based on the fact that ... the stock is not very widely held," said Jefferies mining analyst Christopher LaFemina. "This is a stock that many investors have not liked. It's under-owned and has had some good news. That tends to be a recipe for a higher share price."

Access RDI's Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=FCX

On Tuesday, shares in AK Steel Holding Corporation recorded a trading volume of 70,077,188 shares, which was above the three months average volume of 17,456,800 shares. The stock ended the day 12.44% higher at 6.78. The share price has gained 75.19% from its 52 week low with a 52 week trading range of 3.87 - 11.39.The company's shares are currently trading below their 200-day moving average. Moreover, the stock's 50-day moving average of $6.32 is below its 200-day moving average of $7.21. Shares of AK Steel Holding Corporation are trading at a Price to Earnings ratio of 26.28. The company reported a profit of $0.19 per share for the second quarter of 2017, which topped analyst's estimates of $0.13 per share, according to eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. Revenues were $1.56 billion for the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 4 percent year-over-year. Shares of AK Steel have fallen approximately 33.59 percent year-to-date.

Access RDI's AK Steel Holding Corp. Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=AKS

Our Actionable Research on Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) and AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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SOURCE: RDInvesting.com