Global equities edge higher on upbeat earnings

By Tom Wilson

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Equity markets gained globally on Tuesday, as upbeat corporate earnings continue to buoy Wall Street stocks, though investor concerns lingered over supply chain problems sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) kicked off the earnings season for technology giants by reporting a 17% jump in its third quarter profit on Monday. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) are expected to report similarly upbeat results later on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were trading higher at noon, a day after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reached new record highs.

"Even though this has been a good earnings season in aggregate we are starting to see more companies with supply backlogs, hiring difficulties, and rising input prices that are eating into profits," Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) analysts wrote.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 50 countries, added 0.27%.

The European STOXX 600 index hit its highest in seven weeks, adding 0.75%.

Overnight in Asia, the MSCI's gauge of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 0.02% after briefly touching its highest in six weeks, following gains throughout October.

"Traders see this relatively strong earnings and other companies taking advantage of low interest rates to invest in capital expenditure as positive momentum," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital.

On Wall Street, the Dow rose 0.03% to 35,752.99, the S&P 500 gained 0.12% to 4,571.97 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.11% to 15,209.64.

U.S. Treasury yields were mixed on Tuesday in thin volume, with those on the long end of the curve falling for a third straight session as investors looked to next week's Federal Reserve meeting for clues as to the timing of its first interest rate hike in three years.

The benchmark U.S. 10-year yield was down at 1.6211%.

The U.S. dollar traded in a narrow range on Tuesday as markets awaited news from central bankers in coming days that might spark volatility.

The U.S. dollar index was unchanged at 93.8330.

Oil prices edged up to fresh multi-year highs on Tuesday, supported by a global supply shortage and strong demand in the United States, the world's biggest consumer.

Brent futures rose 0.5% to $86.41 a barrel in early afternoon trading, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1.1% to $84.71.