Bullishness among stock market participants remains extremely high, and Friday's early market action showed no signs of letting up in the drive upward. Investors seem to believe that there's no alternative to stocks, given rock-bottom yields on fixed-income securities and the poor performance of other asset classes like commodities. At around 11:15 a.m. EDT today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was up 69 points to 28,561, coming within 1,000 points of its all-time closing high. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) had picked up 10 points to 3,495, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) had risen 70 points to 11,696.
One thing on the side of the bulls is the fact that earnings reports have generally been better than many had feared. Both Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) and Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY) came out with their latest results overnight, and both stocks gained ground following what many investors saw as positive signs of a continued recovery.
Shares of Ulta Beauty were higher by 6% Friday morning. The beauty salon and products retailer released its second-quarter results, and although some of the numbers weren't pretty, the report showed Ulta overcoming many of the obstacles posed by the coronavirus pandemic.