by Justin Spittler
Casey Research
Corporate America is doing whatever it can to prop up the stock market.
As you’ve probably noticed, U.S. stocks are rallying. Yesterday, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and NASDAQ all hit new all-time highs.
You might find it odd that stocks have broken out to record highs. After all, the global economy is clearly headed in the wrong direction. Stocks are expensive. And Corporate America is struggling to make money.
As of Friday, 91% of the companies in the S&P 500 have shared second-quarter financial results. Based on these numbers, second-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 are on track to decline 3.5% from last year. This would mark the fifth straight quarter of falling earnings.