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S&P 500 Companies' Quarterly Profit Growth Slows, But Remains Strong, Oppenheimer Says

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S&P 500 Companies' Quarterly Profit Growth Slows, But Remains Strong, Oppenheimer Says

S&P 500 companies' quarterly earnings growth slowed compared with figures from a week ago, but remained well ahead of Wall Street's expectations heading into the reporting season, Oppenheimer Asset Management said Monday.

Some 89% of companies in the benchmark equity index have reported results in the latest cycle, with earnings up about 25% from a year earlier and revenue rising 10%.

Last week's report by the brokerage showed profit and revenue growth at about 28% and 11%, respectively, based on financials reported by 63% of the index constituents.

Ahead of the earnings season, FactSet put expected earnings growth at 12.6% from a year earlier, Oppenheimer Asset Management Chief Investment Strategist John Stoltzfus said.

Among sectors, consumer discretionary and communication services outperformed in terms of earnings, with profits up by about 48% and 47% year over year, respectively. Technology led the chart for revenue growth, with a 23% increase, followed by communication services' 15% jump.

Nine S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report results this week, Stoltzfus said. They include Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Applied Materials (AMAT).

On Friday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite reached new all-time highs, marking the sixth consecutive weekly advance for both indexes.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected an Iranian counterproposal to end the war, extending uncertainty around oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Notwithstanding the recent powerful rallies in stocks driven by earnings growth and better than expected US economic data over the past week, challenges remain to finding resolution to the conflict in the Middle East," Stoltzfus said. "That conflict, in our view remains as a potential negative overhang to market performance. In addition, the high price of oil and supply chain disruptions add to inflation risks near term."

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