ASML HOLDING NV NY REG (ASML) 30.13 -$0.15 (-0.50%) 08:06PM (15 mins delay)

US equity markets closed modestly in the red Tuesday. But, continuing the theme seen in Q2, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported better-than-expected earnings on slightly worse-than-expected revenues, leading the healthcare sector lower on the day. Consumer cyclicals took some heart from the latest weekly chain store sales report from the ICSC, which showed sales up modestly for a third consecutive week. This was despite the fact that the latest IBD/TIPP economic optimism index showed that consumer sentiment had fallen to its lowest level since July.

Consumer (and of course tech) stocks have taken further heart today from Intel’s (INTC) Q3 earnings report, which was released after the close last night. Equity futures have rallied strongly as the company reported better than expected earnings and revenues, together with a forecast for Q4 which also handily beat market expectations. Note the high end of the company’s guidance for the next quarter would have margins better than that of the tech bubble. In sympathy with Intel’s mega impressive numbers, Euro tech names STMicroelectronics NV (STM) (Europe’s biggest chipmaker) advanced 3.8% and Infineon (IFX) (the second-largest chip maker) mirrored that rise.