US STOCKS-Wall Street advances as earnings season hits the road running

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* JPMorgan hits record high on earnings beat
* UnitedHealth, Johnson & Johnson shares jump after results
* Brexit hopes boost sentiment
* Indexes up: Dow 1.09%, S&P 1.20%, Nasdaq 1.43%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street jumped on Tuesday
as third-quarter reporting season kicked into high gear with a
spate of upbeat earnings reports that brought buyers back to the
equities market.
All three major U.S. stock indexes touched three-week highs,
gaining more than 1% in a broad-based rally.
"It's all going to be about earnings for the next couple of
weeks and that's a good thing," said Oliver Pursche, chief
market strategist at Bruderman Asset Management in New York.
"These early beats are a very positive sign."
Even so, Pursche warned that global headwinds persist.
"We're likely to see corporate earnings and monetary policy
helping to lift stocks, while geopolitical events will put
pressure on stocks," Pursche said. "As such, we'll probably be
in this trading range for some time."
On the geopolitical front, investors welcomed news that
Britain and the European Union could reach a deal in time for a
leaders' summit this week. Major financial firms JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N , Citigroup
Inc C.N , Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N and Wells Fargo & Co
WFC.N all posted results, as did healthcare giants Johnson &
Johnson JNJ.N and UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N .
Among the big banks, JPMorgan Chase stock hit a record high
after it handily beat estimates on bond trading and underwriting
strength. Its shares were last up 3.6%.
Citigroup rose 2.0% following its profit beat. Wells Fargo results were less upbeat, as its profit slid 26%
due to sinking mortgage income and legal costs. Goldman Sachs'
profit miss was attributed to weak underwriting. Wells Fargo
rose 2.8%, while Goldman gained 1.0%. Prescription drug sales helped drive Johnson & Johnson's
upside surprise, while UnitedHealth raised its 2019 guidance on
pharmacy benefit growth. Their shares were up 1.9% and 8.2%,
respectively.
Analysts currently expect S&P 500 third-quarter earnings to
have contracted by 3% from last year, down from the 12.1% growth
seen a year ago, according to Refinitiv data.
Of the 34 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, 88.2%
have come in above consensus estimates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 292.98 points,
or 1.09%, to 27,080.34, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 35.49 points,
or 1.20%, to 3,001.64 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
114.98 points, or 1.43%, to 8,163.63.
Among the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, eight were in the
black, with healthcare .SPXHC , communications services
.SPLRCL and financials .SPSY enjoying the largest percentage
gains.
Blackrock Inc BLK.N , the world's largest asset manager,
beat analyst estimates on strong inflows into its fixed income
and cash management business, sending its stock up 2.7%.
In other news, shares of Roku Inc ROKU.O surged 10.8%
after the announcing Apple Inc's AAPL.O TV app was available
on its platform and Apple TV+ would be available after it was
launched. Bank of America BAC.N , expected to post results on
Wednesday, rose 2.8% after a Bloomberg report that Warren
Buffett' Berkshire Hathaway was seeking permission from the
Federal Reserve to boost his stake in the bank above 10%.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.28-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.92-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 36 new highs and 62 new lows.

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