Stock Market
A man is reflected on an electronic board showing market indices of the (top-bottom) NASDAQ, Hong Kong Hang Seng Index, SSE Composite Index, and Korea Composite Stock Price Index outside a brokerage in Tokyo June 25, 2014. Asian shares were on the back foot early on Wednesday, taking their cue from Wall Street as the deepening crisis in Iraq and a report that the U.S. could be loosening restrictions on crude exports triggered a rally in oil prices. REUTERS/Yuya Shino (JAPAN - Tags: BUSINESS)

Despite disappointing results from Boeing and other companies, the U.S. stock market logged record-high earnings due to positive earnings from technology firms.

The S&P 500 went up 3.48 points or 0.2 per cent and closed at 1,987.01 on July 23. It beat its previous record on July 3 by less than 2 points.

The Nasdaq composite also increased 17.68 points or 0.4 per cent and ended at 4,473.70, while the Dow Jones industrial average went against the trend and dipped 26.91 points or 0.2 per cent to 17,086.63. It was mainly dragged down by aircraft manufacturer Boeing.

Even if less than 25 per cent of listed companies in the U.S. reported their quarterly financial performance, the bulk of the results were better than expected. So far, 72 per cent of S&P 500 companies have earnings that beat expectations, while 73 per cent exceeded sales forecast, indicating the improvement in the American economy.

Other winners were Armour and Facebook with their stocks up 13 per cent and seven per cent, respectively following the release of their earnings report.

Also helping boost the other major indices were biotechnology stocks such as Puma Biotechnology whose share price jumped 295 per cent to $233.43 from $174.40 after the firm disclosed positive trial results for its experimental breast cancer drug. Biogen Idec stock also increased 11 per cent or by $33.93 to $337.60.

The growth this week contrasts with the previous week when geopolitical events in Israel and Ukraine affected the bourses.

A day after the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, the S&P 500 index tumbled down 23.45 points or 1.2 per cent to 1,958.12, the Dow decreased 161.39 points or 0.9 percent to 16,976.81 and the Nasdaq composite index dipped 62.52 points or 1.4 percent to 4,353.45.

That week's bull run confirms analysts' forecast that the markets will look past the events in Ukraine and Gaza after a few days.

Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst of the Lindsey Group, explained, "I think every geopolitical situation that we've seen has had a fleeting impact on the market. I don't think people should turn bearish because of this. It scares people for a short period of time, and that's it."

The events indicate the maturity of the U.S. stock market as mature investors hold on to their stocks - a fruit of wise advise from analysts, economists, brokers and other market experts as well as investor education acquired by shareholders.

For newbie retail investors who also want to gain maturity and wisdom in how they manage their shares, one resource they could tap is online investment educator InvestView (OTCQB: INVU), a Red Bank, New Jersey-based company that has made it the firm's mission to make available to the public products that would help individual investors find, analyze, track and manage their portfolio.

Learning the ins and outs as well as the intricacies of stock trading would help validate whether it is the analysts opinion that is worth dumping or heeding.

By using InvestView's resources, investors could receive subscription-based financial education courses delivered through the company's web site.

Investview also has web-based tools designed to simplify stock research and improve the investor's research efficiency. Among such tools is Market Point, made up of Charts, Stock Watch, Market, Calendar and Campus.